Flying in France: Ryanair to levy €100 charge for people arriving late for flights

Passengers arriving late for a flight with Ryanair could face fines from the low-cost carrier in plans to minimise disruption from late boarders. 

Passengers who turn up with less than 40 minutes before their flight's scheduled departure time and have not yet checked in face a fine of €100, according various French, UK, and Irish media reports.

In addition, travellers who miss their flight but ask to be put on the next available plane within an hour of their original ticket departure also face this penalty.

The penalty is listed on the company's table of fees and charges.

Forty minutes is the airline’s current time limit to check-in physically at the airport - at a cost of €55 - if you have not completed this online. 

Currently, those who turn up after this time and attempt to board may simply be denied boarding without a refund.  

The new €100 fee is set to be applied to those who turn up after this and attempt to check-in physically at the desk when it would have otherwise closed.

Advice from airports including Dublin is to arrive two hours before scheduled departure for a short-haul flight, and three hours for a medium-haul journey to ensure you make it through security on time.

Boarding pass rules to change 

These fines may be short-lived, however, as Ryanair is aiming to completely remove the option for physical check-in by the end of the year.

All boarding passes will have to be presented digitally via a smartphone and not in paper format from November 1. 

Previously, the rule was set to come into effect on May 1, but has been pushed back six months.

The end to manual check-in will in turn lead to the closure of physical check-in desks run by the airline. 

 Read more: Change to Ryanair boarding process delayed to November 2025: French flights affected

Airline withdraws from regional airport

Ryanair will end all services to and from Paris-Vatry (XCR) airport by the end of the month, departmental authorities in the Marne announced.

It is the first airport the airline has axed services to, after it threatened to halt flights to and from 10 (unnamed) regional airports in the country.

This is in protest over new taxes on flights introduced in the 2025 budget.

Read more: Ryanair to withdraw from airport in north of France