How to check in online with Ryanair

If you're flying with Ryanair, check-in is done online free of charge, on the airline's website or in its app. At the end of the process you get your digital boarding pass in the Ryanair app, which is the only format the airline issues boarding passes in. You can also check in at the airport, but that comes with a fee.

In this guide we explain step by step how to check in online with Ryanair, when it opens and closes, how the digital boarding pass works, and the deadlines you need to meet at the airport.

Before you start, make sure you have the following ready:

• Your reservation number and the email address you used to book the flight

• Your travel document details, which you'll be asked for during the process

• The Ryanair app installed on your phone, because that's where you'll get your boarding pass.

On documents, Ryanair generally accepts two forms of ID: a valid passport or a valid national identity card. A driving licence isn't accepted as a travel document for any destination. The rules also vary depending on where you're going, so it's worth checking which documents your flight requires on the Ryanair website before you travel.

Ryanair online check-in takes just a few minutes and can be completed free of charge on the official website or in the airline's app. At the end of the process you get your digital boarding pass in the Ryanair app.

To check in online with Ryanair:

1. Go to the Ryanair website or open the app.

2. Log in to your account, or retrieve your booking with your reservation number and the email address you used to book the flight.

3. Select check-in.

4. Follow the steps and enter the travel document details you're asked for.

5. Complete check-in. Your digital boarding pass will be available in the Ryanair app.

As mentioned above, online check-in can be completed on the web or in the app. Below you'll find the differences between the two options.

With Ryanair, when you can check in online depends on a choice you made when booking: whether or not you reserved a seat.

So if you reserved a seat, you can check in well in advance. If your seat is allocated to you at random, you'll have to wait until 24 hours before your flight. To make sure you don't forget, bear in mind that Ryanair sends a reminder email 48 hours and 24 hours before departure, prompting you to check in online.

Finally, don't confuse the closing time for online check-in with the opening hours of the desks at the airport: they're two different things. Online check-in closes 2 hours before departure, while the check-in and bag drop desks follow their own schedule, which we come to below.

If you get to the airport without having checked in online, you can still check in at the desk, but a fee applies. At the time of our check (August 2026) the airport check-in fee is €55 per passenger, per sector, with lower amounts in two countries: €30 for flights departing from Spain and €40 for those departing from Austria.

Airport check-in also has to be completed before the desks close, which happens earlier than the online check-in deadline.

It's a different matter if you did check in online but can't open your boarding pass in the app at the airport, because your phone has run out of battery, for example. In that situation Ryanair issues a boarding pass free of charge.

What to do at the airport

Once you've completed online check-in, what you need to do at the airport depends on your baggage.

• If you have checked baggage, you'll need to drop it off at the bag drop desk before it closes.

• If you're travelling with hand luggage only and you already have your digital boarding pass in the app, in most cases you can head straight to security.

On deadlines, at the time of writing the check-in and bag drop desks close 40 minutes before the flight departs, unless you're told otherwise. The airline has announced a change, though: from 10 November 2026 they will close 60 minutes before scheduled departure rather than 40. The boarding gate closes 30 minutes before departure.

You checked in on time, well within the deadline, and you were at the gate exactly when you should have been. And yet a cancellation, a delayed flight or overbooking can still get in the way of your plans, even with a confirmed booking.

In these cases, if the airline is responsible, European Regulation EC 261/2004 entitles you to compensation of up to €600 per passenger. The right to compensation applies to arrival delays of more than 3 hours, to cancellations announced without sufficient notice (more details here) and to denied boarding due to overbooking.

Working out whether you're entitled to compensation, and how to claim it from the airline, isn't always easy. To find out more, read our guide to Ryanair compensation. Alternatively, you can check for free with AirHelp: just enter your flight details to find out in moments whether you're entitled to financial compensation.

Track your Ryanair flight after check-in

Once online check-in is done, the wait for your flight begins. From that point on it's always a good idea to keep an eye on your flight status, especially if you have connections or someone picking you up when you land.

Ryanair gives you two tools. On the website, in the travel updates section, you can check the latest status of your flight by entering the flight number and date, or the destination. In the app, the Day of Travel Assistant gives you real-time updates on your flight status, your gate number and boarding information.

There's also the free AirHelp app, which adds one more feature: if your flight is delayed by more than 3 hours, is cancelled, or you're denied boarding, the app automatically checks whether you're entitled to compensation under Regulation EC 261/2004 and alerts you directly.

With the AirHelp app you can:

• receive real-time notifications about delays, cancellations, gate changes and baggage carousels;

• scan your boarding pass to add your flight quickly;

• share your flight status with whoever is picking you up;

• automatically check whether a disruption entitles you to compensation of up to €600;

• start your compensation claim straight from the app, with no paperwork.

The app is free and available on iOS and Android.