Since last summer, the Spanish government instituted a requirement that all passengers entering Spain from the UK and Ireland provide ‘advance passenger information’ (known also as API or APIS data) before their departure.

Ryanair will start collecting APIS from all passengers who book with them to fly to Spain beginning on June 1st. Passengers can chose to provide the information at the time that they arrange the flight, or anytime up to four hours before departure.

According to Ryanair, the fastest and most convenient way to provide APIS is at the time of the booking and reminded the public that it is the passenger’s responsibility to ensure the airline has their APIS at least four hours before the flight.

Beginning on June 1st, airports will no longer be accepting APIS information. Therefore, if a passenger fails to provide their information before leaving for the airport, they will not be able to check in and their booking will be lost and will not be eligible for a refund.

Lorna Farren of Ryanair said: Ryanair regrets any inconvenience these Spanish government APIS requirements may cause, however it is the responsibility of every passenger travelling from the UK/ Ireland to Spain submit passport or National ID data at the time of original booking or at least 4 hours prior to their flights on Ryanair.com. We strongly advise all passengers travelling to Spain to submit their APIS data and thereby avoid any risk of being denied check-in.”

From each passenger, the government of Spain requires the traveller’s full name as it appears on their passport, their date of birth, their nationality, their passport or travel document number, the type of document they are travelling with and the state it was issued by.

www.ryanair.com