For Ryanair passengers with a hold suitcase, the alarm will need to ring a little earlier. From Tuesday 10 November, in all airports served by the Irish company, baggage drop-off desks will close 60 minutes before the scheduled departure time, compared to 40 today. Ryanair reminded passengers of this on 27 October, six months after the press release last April.
What changes
The April press release also extended the innovation to check-in at the airport, as well as to baggage delivery. Translated into times, with a 10am flight the suitcase must be left at the counter by 9am. That time, mind you, does not indicate when to show up but the last available moment: the company invites those who use the service to arrive “well in advance” and to close check-in and delivery before the desks lower the shutters.
Who it concerns
According to Ryanair’s numbers, the restriction affects around 20% of passengers, i.e. those who take checked baggage on board. The other 80% check in online before arriving at the airport and go straight to security and the gate: nothing changes for them.
The reasons for the company
The official explanation is that the extra twenty minutes are used to overcome the queues at security and passport controls, and to arrive at the gate before boarding, especially during the busiest periods. Thus, Ryanair claims, the number, already small in its opinion, of those who miss their flight because they are stuck in queues will be reduced. In parallel, the company has focused on self-service stations for baggage delivery, integrated with the app, which allow you to register your suitcase and print the label yourself. The objective declared in April was to cover over 95% of the network’s airports by October.
