Ryanair - do I really need to be at the airport 3 hours ahead?

[KillingMeDeftly]

We're flying from Stansted at 730am and I've had an email saying we need to be there at 430! I assumed 2 hours as per usual and
booked a cab accordingly. 3 hours seems excessive so early in the morning. Has anyone flown recently from Stansted? Is 3 hours really necessary?

May 2022, Stansted, RyanAir: they told us 3 hours.
We arrived 2 hours before.
Conditions were VERY BUSY.
We waited > 1 hour after security before boarding was called.
I wouldn't turn up more than about 2 hours early.

So, if you do the 3 hours and the security is crazy.... can you still miss your flight?

My parents arrived on a train once (station 17 miles away), at 17:25.
I know for fact, their next connnection departed at 17:45.
The walk between platforms was no more than 100'.
They managed to miss their connection (!)
Gosh some people manage to waste time, somehow.
If you aren't like that, I imagine 2 hours would be fine for OP.
Who has very evidently already decided to go for 3 hours early.

Update us how it went, please, OP!!

I think we are on the same flight @KillingMeDeftly

Yes you could although when we were stuck in the security line there was someone calling people forward for imminent flights. I’m guessing your bags are checked and loaded then that gives you some extra time as it would cause a delay getting them off again

I meant to say if you are flying tomorrow

My mum flew from stansted last week, technically before most schools broke up, she said the fast track security was worth the extra cost. They had time to sit in lounge etc, she said in terminal no seats available queues galore for every food shop was rammed. So I’d deffo think about booking fast track.

We got fast track last month and the fast track queue was worse than the normal one because everyone had the same idea.

We abandoned the fast track queue and joined the normal one, but still took us about 50 minutes to get through.

I flew from Stanstead last week at 5.55am I flew with Jet 2 but all the check ins were hugely busy! We left 3 hours to get through and we literally checked in and got through security and then had about 15 mins till boarding.

Why is air travel always so flippin horrendous?!

We had booked car parking for 3 hours early, then I panicked and changed it to 4. Thank god I did as the security queue alone was 3 hours!

3 hours is standard now . We flew from Stansted twice in June , no problems but it Did take 3 hours

Arrived at Dublin 2 hours 45 min early ( was aiming for 3 hours but ran slightly late). Had my son in the buggy so ended up skipping parts of que as they redirected the buggy. Still took over an hour to get into the airport and another to get through security. I was sent to the family assist lane which is not dissimilar to the fast track.
I just about made my flight. If I didn't have the buggy for the family lane I fear we would have missed the flight. I would take the advice and go 3 hours early even if you are getting fast track

Flew from EMA at silly o’clock in may so well before things got bad.
getting through security was fair with fast pass , but getting anything to eat / drink - huge queue - and no where to sit until I worked out the gate using on line stuff.

3hrs is I’m afraid probably right.

I would, it took us 1.5hrs to get through security, and that was with a night before bag drop off and we were starting to feel a bit jumpy. It was absolute carnage and I don't use that phrase lightly. We were queued twice round the departures entrance. Was a bit of a joke.

We flew from Stansted in half term. It was rammed when we arrived at 3.30am! We paid extra for the security fast track & I think it was worth it.

I’m flying with easyJet in August. Hand luggage, told to check in 40 mins before.

Ah crap I have an 8am flight in a couple of weeks- think I might get there at 4.30!

I would leave 2 personally. We went away for half term (when it was awful) and Ryanair emailed us to say get there 3 hours before. However, bag drop only opened 2 hours before so we couldn't go through security until then anyway so what would be the point?

We flew on Sunday from Stansted at the same time you’re booked for and it was a fucking nightmare.

I’ve never seen so many people in a confined space and the Ryanair bit was extremely badly organised. The self serve bag drop terminals were broken too. The check in/bag drop queue was the longest queue I’ve ever seen and probably took us 1.5 hours to get through.

We only made our flight by using the disabled security queue. DP is disabled and is entitled to use it but we never do. We’d absolutely have missed our flight if we hadn’t done this time.

good luck!

A glut of flights leave between 7-9. We took a flight at 9.45 recently, and walked through security in fifteen minutes.

On the way home from Schipol, we spent 2.5h in a queue, having checked in online and only cabin baggage.

I don't remember it being as bad as this pre-Covid. Standard was turn up 2 hours before your flight or an hour before if it's just hand luggage. What on earth is causing all the delays? Most countries have dropped Covid entry restrictions too!

Bag drop doesn't open until 2 hours before the flight departs, which seems strange if you have to be there 3 hours ahead. You can't go through security until you've dropped your bags off!

I wouldn't bother getting there 3 hours early if baggage doesn't open till 2 hours before departure.

Interestingly I had the opposite experience from everyone here. Got there three hours early as instructed (Stansted evening flight). Through security in 22 minutes and then stuck for hours in the crammed departure lounge which has 67% more people in it due to everyone being stuck there for 2.5 hours rather than 1.5.

Stansted two weeks ago, 2.5 hours early
hand luggage abs paid for fast track (advance only)
fast track well worth it as had an hour to spare