Europe’s largest airline by passenger numbers is set to change its luggage check-in rules on 10 November 2026, in a move that requires the carrier’s passengers to get to the airport earlier than previously required.
The adjustment should not come as too much of a surprise since it was announced back in April 2026. Under the new regime, airport bag drop services at all Ryanair airports will close 60 minutes before the scheduled departure, instead of 40 minutes. It effectively means that passengers with bags to check in will need to reach their departure airport 20 minutes earlier than they have had to in the past.
The shift has been framed in a Ryanair press release as a helpful measure to allow passengers who check a bag “more time to clear airport security and passport control queues and reach their departure gate before boarding begins, particularly during busy travel periods.”
While passengers may not share the view that it is helpful, nor welcome the added pressure to reach the airport earlier, it is true that leaving plenty of time for airport processes is wise, especially given ongoing concerns in Europe’s aviation sector about the European Union’s Entry/Exit System (EES), which replaces manual passport security with biometric registration. The system has caused significant delays and disruptions at the region’s hubs and has been widely criticised for inconsistent implementation across the bloc.
But, in addition to getting passengers through the airport in time for the flights, it could be argued that the change might push more travel consumers to choose to fly without checking their luggage—a shift in behaviour that would save airlines fuel by reducing aircraft weight amid the current oil crisis caused by the US-Israel war with Iran and the Strait of Hormuz blockade.
Ryanair noted in its statement that only 20% of its passengers travel with luggage that they need to check in, and that the vast majority choose to travel lighter, with cabin bags only. The wording of the press release appears to emphasise that the inconvenience of getting to the airport earlier will not bother “the remaining 80% of Ryanair passengers who don’t check in bags” and therefore “will be unaffected by this small 20-minute change and will continue to check in online before travelling to the airport and proceed directly through security to their departure gate.”
Ryanair CEO Michael O’Leary alluded to those rising fuel costs in a Brussels press conference earlier this month, and warned many carriers had failed to hedge their fuel price positions to cope with the oil supply chain issues, which—combined with a suite of current aviation mergers, takeovers, and bankruptcies—could mean airfares go up by as much as 20% in the next year.
