Ryanair's check-in time is changing. Starting Tuesday, Nov. 10, check-in and bag drop desks at every airport Ryanair flies from will close 60 minutes before the scheduled departure, up from 40 minutes today. For Europe's biggest airline, that's a small rule change with real consequences: if you show up with a suitcase 50 minutes before your flight, the desk will already be shut, and the person in front of you who made it by a minute won't be much consolation.
Who It Affects
The change only matters if you're checking a bag or need to check in at the airport. If you're flying with just a carry-on and you've checked in online, nothing changes, and you can still head straight to security. That covers most Ryanair passengers. The airline says only about one in five of its customers checks a bag.
Ryanair's explanation is the line after bag drop. Security and passport queues at busy European airports can be long enough that passengers who drop a bag at the last minute end up missing the flight anyway, especially at peak times. Ryanair's marketing chief, Dara Brady, said the earlier cutoff is meant to help bag-checking customers "get to their departure gate on-time, especially during busy travel periods when some of these airport queues can be longer." The airline has also been adding self-service bag drop machines linked to the Ryanair app, which it said would be at more than 95% of its airports by October.
How Ryanair Compares With Other Budget Airlines
An hour isn't unusual in Europe, but Ryanair is making it the rule at every airport it flies from. Its rivals still mostly use 40 minutes, with longer cutoffs at their busiest airports.
easyJet closes bag drop 40 minutes before departure at most airports, but 60 minutes at many of its biggest, including London Gatwick, London Luton, Manchester, Amsterdam, Lisbon, Palma and Malaga, and 50 minutes at Edinburgh, Geneva and Zurich. Wizz Air also defaults to 40 minutes, rising to 60 at airports including Rome Fiumicino, Milan Malpensa, Venice, London Luton and Dubai, and 70 at Tel Aviv.
That patchwork is part of what catches travelers out. If you fly easyJet from Gatwick one month and Wizz Air from Budapest the next, the deadline can change by 20 minutes without you noticing. From Nov. 10, Ryanair at least makes it simple: one hour, everywhere.
What Happens If You Miss It
If the bag drop desk has closed, you generally won't be able to check your bag, and a long line isn't usually accepted as an excuse. That can mean leaving the bag behind or missing the flight and buying a new ticket, and when the deadline is missed, that cost generally falls on the passenger, not the airline.
Forgetting to check in online is a separate, more expensive mistake. Ryanair charges €55, or £55 in the UK, to check in at the airport desk, and from Nov. 10 that desk closes at the same 60-minute mark. Between the fee and a missed flight, a lot of Ryanair's cheapest fares can end up costing more than the airline you didn't book.
How Early to Get There
Treat the hour as a hard deadline, not a target. Bag drop lines at busy airports can move slowly at peak times, and being in the queue when the desk closes may not be enough to get your bag on the plane. If you're checking a bag, aim to be at the airport about two hours before an international flight, as most airlines advise, and longer at airports known for long security lines.
A few habits help. Check in online before you leave home even if you're checking a bag, so you only need to drop it rather than check in at the desk. Use the self-service bag drop if your airport has one, since it's usually quicker than waiting for an agent. Some UK airports, including Birmingham and Edinburgh, have also offered night-before bag drop for early flights, which is worth looking into if your flight leaves at dawn. And if you're traveling in the first days after Nov. 10, expect a few people in line to be caught out by the new rule, so give yourself a little extra room. Somebody will be pleading with the agent, and it's better if it isn't you.
