Ryanair will tighten its airport procedures from 10 November 2026, extending the check-in and bag drop deadline to 60 minutes before departure, up from the current 40 minutes.
The airline said the change is designed to give passengers more time to clear increasingly congested security and passport control queues, reducing the number of travellers who miss flights due to delays within airports.
The adjustment mainly affects the roughly 20% of passengers who check in bags, while the majority — about 80% — who check in online and travel with cabin baggage only will see no change to their journey.
The move coincides with a broader rollout of self-service bag-drop kiosks across Ryanair’s network. The airline expects more than 95% of its airports to be equipped with the automated systems by October, allowing passengers to tag and drop bags more quickly using the Ryanair mobile app.
Chief Marketing Officer Dara Brady said the extended deadline, combined with increased automation, would streamline airport processing and improve punctuality, particularly during peak travel periods.
Ryanair described the change as a minor operational adjustment aimed at improving reliability rather than restricting passengers, as airlines and airports across Europe continue to grapple with high demand and operational bottlenecks.