Airlines, and in particular low-cost, multiply the rules for travelers. This new restriction at Ryanair is to be scrutinized closely if you have planned a next trip with the Irish company.
Ryanair tighten the screw! Between the size and the number of luggage authorized in the cabin, the increasingly strict recording rules and now the boarding conditions that harden, traveling by plane requires good preparation upstream.
The displayed goal of these carriers is to limit delays and continue to reduce their operational costs. Each minute counts and everything is done to optimize the time spent on the ground between two flights. In this little game, Ryanair excels and does not hesitate to financially penalize passengers who would not scrupulously respect the settlement on its website.
The Irish company goes even further. The latecomers will soon have to pay a fine of 120 euros for missing their flight, if they wish to board the next one. This sanction will also be applied to those who arrive until an hour after the departure of their initial flight in the hope of embarking on a future flight. This new rule will be applied from May 1, 2025 to all the flights of the company.
Michael O’Leary, the boss of Ryanair, justifies these new rules by the desire to guarantee the punctuality of thefts. According to the company’s website, the goal is to “promote the importance of arriving in advance at the airport”. The French part of the company’s site also includes a space “Frequently Questions”. In this one, we can now read: “Our registration and deposit counters open at the latest 2 hours before the departure of the planned flight and close strictly 40 minutes before the flight, unless otherwise notified before the flight. If you do not register before this time, boarding can be refused without reimbursement.”
Ryanair had already planned, still from May 2025, to permanently delete the paper boarding cards, including those printed at home by passengers. Everything will be done via the mobile application, with a 100% digital process. Today, forget your boarding pass costs 66 euros. In two years, travelers will no longer even have this rescue option and will necessarily have to present a digital format. Even if these restrictions may seem drastic, they are deemed necessary to better manage the passenger flow and ensure takeoff on the hour.
The council therefore remains to check well the conditions applied by your airline and arrive at the airport with a good safety margin. For short-coated flights, a minimum of 2 hours before departure is generally recommended, especially in high season, given the controls and any queues. By applying these rules to the letter, you will ensure a more serene trip and a vacation that start on the right foot … without delay or fine!