Low-cost airline Ryanair has announced that from November it will move the check-in and baggage drop-off time at airports to one hour before departure, instead of the previous 40 minutes, in order to reduce the number of passengers who miss flights due to long queues at security and border controls.
The change comes amid increasing congestion at European borders, partly linked to the introduction of the Entry and Exit System (EES), which requires biometric data for most non-EU travelers.
Although Ryanair states that the new rules are not a direct consequence of that system, it points out that it has contributed to longer waits, reports the Guardian.
The company estimates that the change will not apply to the majority of passengers because about 80 percent of them already check in online and go directly to the boarding gate, while about 20 percent of passengers hand over their luggage at the airport.
Ryanair also plans to introduce self-service baggage drop kiosks at more than 95 percent of the airports it operates in by October, with the aim of speeding up the process and reducing queues.
Longer waits have already been reported at some European airports, and some countries, such as Greece, have announced that they will not implement the new rules for certain passengers during the summer due to fears of congestion.
In one recent case, more than 100 passengers missed their flight due to congestion at passport control in Milan.
