Ryanair has announced today (Wednesday, 22 April) that, from Tuesday 10 November, check-in and baggage drop-off services at all its airports will close 60 minutes before the scheduled departure (instead of the current 40 minutes) to give passengers more time to get through security and passport control queues, thereby reducing the small number of passengers who currently miss their flights after getting caught up in these airport queues.
This comes as Ryanair rolls out more self-service baggage check-in kiosks across its network, which will be available at over 95% of airports from October. The self-service kiosks are fully integrated with the Ryanair app, allowing passengers to check in their luggage and print their bag tags, thereby speeding up baggage drop-off and reducing waiting times.
This latest improvement will give the 20% of Ryanair customers who wish to check in a bag a little more time to get through airport security and passport control queues, so they can reach their boarding gate before boarding begins. The remaining 80% of passengers who do not check in luggage are unaffected and will continue to check in online (before arriving at the airport) and proceed directly to their boarding gate upon arrival.
Dara Brady, Ryanair’s CMO, said: “From Tuesday, 10 November, Ryanair customers will find that airport check-in and baggage drop-off close 60 minutes before the scheduled departure, instead of the current 40 minutes. This will give the 20% of our customers (who check in luggage) more time to get through airport security and passport control queues, and arrive at their boarding gate on time, especially during peak periods when some of these airport queues can become longer.
“We are also installing self-service kiosks at over 95% of Ryanair’s airports by October. This means faster baggage drop-off, shorter queues at airport counters and an even more punctual service for the 20% of our customers who still wish to check in baggage, whilst the 80% (who do not check in luggage) will not be affected by this minor 20-minute change, as they will continue to check in online before arriving at the departure airport and proceed directly through security to their boarding gate.”
Ryanair’s chief executive Michael O’Leary has slammed the new border controls. He claimed that the European Union is punishing Britain for Brexit with travel chaos at airports. Speaking about the EU’s Entry Exit System, O’Leary branded the rollout “a s*** show and a shambles” that has created considerable chaos at border crossings. He told the Times: “There’s a bit of Brexit in this too. Here, you voted for Brexit - f*****g join the queue.”