Now Ryanair charges just to check-in
Updated on 14 May 2009
Ryanair customers will have to pay £5 per flight to check in online after May 20 as the budget airline scraps check-in desks.
From next Wednesday, all new bookings will be on a web check-in and 'bag-drop' basis. But passengers who are unable to print their boarding pass must pay a £40 fee at the airport for turning up without it.
Ryanair's Stephen McNamara said: "Passengers travelling without checked-in bags have already embraced our online check-in service and the extension of this service to all passengers, including those with hold luggage and those travelling with infants, will allow all passengers to forever avoid check-in queues.
"Ryanair's web check-in service allows passenger to check-in from 15 days to four hours before, and print, or re-print, their boarding card up to 40 minutes prior to their scheduled departure time."
The new online check-in and "bag-drop" system will be phased in at the 146 airports used by Ryanair by October 1.
The airline also announced it will no longer accept bookings for unaccompanied passengers under the age of 16 years. All new bookings will require passengers - including infants and domestic flight passengers - to hold a valid passport or valid national identity card.
Meanwhile, the European Commission has told low-cost airlines to offer clearer information on their websites or face being shut down following an 18-month probe.
Meglena Kuneva, in charge of consumer protection at the Commission, said: "Out of the nearly 70 top airlines checked by our latest study in March this year, there are a dozen that are still giving us real cause for concern.
"And there are still too many airline websites that do not fully comply with consumer law."
But she said a number of airlines that had been investigated have improved.
She said: "I cannot go through each company in turn, but I will mention some important airlines where there have been significant moves - Ryan Air, EasyJet, Wizzair, Austrian Airlines.
"They have made very significant commitments or in some cases have introduced already sweeping changes on core issues. They are now part of a list of industry leaders who are committed to take forwards a new process to maintain high standards."
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