Budget airline says change will take effect from November and will give passengers more time to get through airports
Ryanair will close airport check-in desks 20 minutes earlier to avoid passengers missing flights, it has announced, amid concern over border queues in Europe.
The budget airline, which carries 200 million passengers annually, will require all passengers dropping bags or checking in at the airport to do so one hour before take-off rather than the current 40-minute deadline.
Ryanair said the change, which will take effect from November, would give more time for passengers to clear airport security and passport control and reduce the number who miss flights through being stuck in queues.
While the move was not prompted by the introduction of Europe’s entry-exit system (EES), which requires most non-EU citizens to provide biometric data at the border, the airline said the system had been a factor in increasing passport queues.
