Ryanair passengers travelling with checked luggage will have to drop off their bags at least 60 minutes before their scheduled departure from Tuesday 10 November, the airline has announced.
The new deadline will apply at all airports served by the low-cost carrier, replacing the current 40-minute cut-off and giving passengers 20 fewer minutes to check in their luggage.
The change, first announced in April, is intended to give travellers more time to pass through airport security and passport control before reaching their departure gates, particularly during busy travel periods.
“We remind passengers using airport bag drop services to arrive at the airport in good time and ensure they have checked in and dropped their bags before check-in and bag drop closes 60 minutes before departure,” said Ryanair’s Chief Marketing Officer, Dara Brady in a statement.
The airline said the measure should also help reduce the number of passengers missing their flights because of long queues at security checkpoints or passport control.
According to Ryanair, around 20% of its passengers travel with checked luggage and will be affected by the new deadline. The remaining 80% of passengers who travel without checked luggage will not be affected by the change. They can continue to check in online before arriving at the airport and proceed directly to security and their departure gate.
The airline is urging passengers travelling with checked luggage to allow sufficient time to complete the bag drop process before the new deadline takes effect.
