Ryanair is set to close its check-in desks 20 minutes early as new EU border controls have led to delays for passengers.
The airline currently allows passengers to check-in until 40 minutes before their flights.
But from November, desks will close an hour before take-off, meaning holidaymakers will have to arrive earlier to avoid missing their flight.
The airline has brought in the change after changes to EU security checks have left passengers stuck in lengthy queues ahead of their journeys.
The new Entry/Exit System (EES), which collects fingerprints and facial scans from visitors from outside the EU, has caused disruption at some European airports and has left Brits stranded.
More than 100 passengers missed an easyJet flight earlier this month due to long queues in Milan.
Greece has defied the EU by dropping the biometric tests for UK visitors, who contribute a large amount to the country’s tourism-centred economy.
The move is also part of the airline’s rollout of self-service bag drop kiosks, with more than 95 per cent of airports having them by October.
From November, desks will close an hour before take-off, meaning holidaymakers will have to arrive earlier to avoid missing their flight
Ryanair boss Michael O’Leary has previously offered staff bonuses for fining passengers with overweight luggage
The EES scheme is just one of a number of overbearing EU rules which are slowing tourists down on their trips abroad.
Pet owners have been told that their pet passports are no longer valid unless they live within the European bloc full time.
Ryanair has a reputation for strict rules, with its chief executive Michael O’Leary offering bonuses for staff who fined passengers with overnight bags.
The firm also banned paper boarding passes last year and required travellers to use the airline’s app for tickets.
Dara Brady, Ryanair’s chief marketing officer, said: ‘From Tues 10 Nov next, Ryanair customers will see airport check-in and bag drops close 60 minutes before scheduled departure, instead of today’s 40 minutes.
‘This will allow these 20 per cent of our customers (who check in a bag) more time to clear through airport security and passport queues, and get to their departure gate on-time, especially during busy travel periods when some of these airport queues can be longer.
‘We are also installing self-service kiosks at over 95% of Ryanair airports before October.
‘This means a quicker bag-drop service, less queuing at airport desks, and an even more punctual service for the 20 per cent of our customers who still wish to check-in a bag, while the 80 per cent (who don’t check-in a bag) will be unaffected by this small 20 minute change, as they will continue to check-in online before they arrive at the departure airport and they go straight through airport security to their departure gate.’
