Ryanair to close airport check-in and bag-drop 20 minutes earlier

Passengers will still able to check in online until two hours before departure. Picture: Denis Minihane.

Ryanair passengers who need to use its airport check-in or bag-drop services will be required to finish the process 20 minutes earlier.

The airline announced it will close the services an hour before the scheduled departure of a flight – compared with 40 minutes currently – to give passengers more time to get through security and passport checks.

This will reduce the “very small number of passengers” who miss their flight while stuck in queues, the carrier added.

Ryanair’s website says passengers who fail to check in on time “may be denied boarding without refund”.

The new policy will be in place from November 10.

Passengers will still able to check in online until two hours before departure.

Ryanair chief marketing officer Dara Brady said the “small 20-minute change” will “allow these 20% of our customers who check in a bag more time to clear through airport security and passport queues, and get to their departure gate on time”.

He added that this will be particularly important “during busy travel periods when some of these airport queues can be longer”.

Many UK passengers are suffering delays at airports on continental Europe because of the rollout of new border rules.

The EU’s Entry/Exit System (EES) involves people from external countries such as the UK having their fingerprints registered and photograph taken to enter the Schengen Area, which consists of 29 European countries, mainly in the EU.

More than 100 easyJet passengers stuck in delays at passport desks at Milan Linate airport missed a flight to Manchester earlier this month.

Ryanair said it is installing more self-service bag drop kiosks across its network.

By October, more than 95% of the airports it serves will have these.

- Press Association