I have a flight leaving at 06:00 AM from OTP (Bucharest Airport). Since I will spend the entire night at the airport, I would like to get some sleep airside, because there are more comfortable options.

However, Ryanair requires non-EU passengers to get their documents checked and stamped before security.

Is it possible to do this procedure in the evening (10-11 PM), and then go through security and sleep airside?

  • In the case that you already took your flight, did you manage to? Note that an issue might also be with being able to pass through security the night before your flight. – mts Jul 12 '18 at 17:45
  • @mts I did take the flight, but didnt sleep in the airport at all – technology Jul 12 '18 at 20:02

In my experience at several RyanAir airports, no.

Often it's the same staff that arrive, check people in, and then reappear at the gate to board you. It's all done as part of an operation to have fewer staff costs. So them being there the night before? Maybe if there's another RyanAir flight at the same time. But most airline in my experience also won't check you in the previous day. I've also tried a few times ;)

Presuming it's this one, this link on sleeping in airports may help on where you could at least rest your head.

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Ryanair no longer enforces their "visa check" policy in practice, so you can proceed directly airside and ignore their statements about needing to go to the check in desk first. Your visa will be checked at the gate instead.

See this post for another anecdote of skipping the checks. To clarify, there is still a "visa check" at the check-in desk, however Ryanair won't deny you entry if you skip and head to the gate instead.

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    The post you have linked dates back to October 2016. I am talking about my experience from December 2017 (Naples - Milan), I did have my visa check from Ryan Air! – trollster Jul 23 '18 at 6:27
  • @trollster there is still a visa check, but you can skip it and head straight to the gate. They won't deny you boarding over it. – JonathanReez Jul 23 '18 at 6:53
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    Besides George Y's anecdotal experience, is there a source that says the policy on Ryanair's website, which says they can refuse travel if you don't follow it, is outdated? It's certainly possible that the policy is enforced sporadically depending on who you're talking to, but a blanket statement that it's not enforced at all seems rather dangerous since it's the opposite of the strongly-worded warning on their website. – Zach Lipton Jul 23 '18 at 7:06
  • @ZachLipton my own experience is the same. You get to the gate, they shrug, check your visa, and you're good to go. Note that EU regulations don't actually allow them to deny you boarding over this issue (see my linked post for the discussion), which is why they're probably not too keen to enforce. – JonathanReez Jul 23 '18 at 7:14

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