Ryanair plans to close airport check-in desks 20 minutes earlier across Europe to give passengers more time to get through lengthy security and immigration lines that have been wreaking havoc at airports across the continent after new biometric passenger checks were introduced.
Until now, Ryanair has allowed passengers with checked-in luggage to arrive at the airport and drop off their bags with just 40 minutes to go before their scheduled departure time.
But from November 10, 2026, Ryanair says it will extend the check-in and bag drop deadline to 60 minutes before departure for all flights across Europe.
Ryanair is blaming the change on the introduction of the EU’s new biometric immigration system, known as EES (Entry/Exit System), which has caused long immigration tailbacks at some airports across the bloc.
Passengers from so-called ‘third countries’ must clear the EES system when they arrive in the EU’s Schengen area and when they are departing it. The system has been slowly rolled out since late last year, although it wasn’t until earlier this month that this process was completed.
With the full introduction of EES, member states are no longer meant to have the option to provide any flexibility to the application of biometric registration and verification.
There have been multiple reports of passengers being stuck in lengthy lines just waiting to clear immigration for departing flights, with planes either waiting way past their scheduled departure time for everyone to show up or leaving passengers behind.
Ryanair believes that the vast majority of passengers won’t be affected by the change, with only 20% of customers currently even checking-in a bag, and the vast majority of passengers using the Ryanair mobile app to check in for their flight.
Given that Ryanair mostly operates relatively short flights around Europe, the airline’s new bag drop rules are some of the most punitive compared to rivals like EasyJet, Wizz Air, and full-service competitors like British Airways.
While Ryanair passengers checking in a bag will have to arrive at the airport a full 60 minutes before departure, customers flying with British Airways from London City Airport can turn up at the airport and check in a bag just 30 minutes before the scheduled departure time.
Many airlines enforce a 45-minute deadline for checking-in a bag for short-haul flights, although this can differ in certain destinations where the deadline increases to 60 minutes.
Even with the check-in deadline change, Ryanair is still encouraging all passengers departing European airports to arrive earlier than they might otherwise, due to the introduction of EES.
Given the warnings that Ryanair has given, don’t expect the airline to hold flights if immigration delays stop passengers from getting to the departure gate before the scheduled departure time.
How does Ryanair compare to other airlines?
 | • 45 minutes for most short-haul flights • 60 minutes for long-haul flights |
 | • 60 minutes from hubs in Frankfurt and Munich • 45 minutes for most short-haul flights at smaller airports |
 | • 40 minutes for flights from most airports • Between 50 and 60 minutes for flights from some destinations |
 | • 45 minutes for short-haul flights from London Heathrow and Gatwick • 30 minutes for flights from London City • 60 minutes for long-haul flights and short-haul flights from some European airports |
 | • 40 minutes for flights from most airports • 60 minutes at certain airports |
