Vueling Check-in: Times, Boarding Pass and Baggage Drop

Opening time varies according to the fare chosen at the time of booking, which explains why two passengers on the same flight don't get access to check-in at the same moment.

Two particular cases deserve attention. If the segment is operated by Iberia, check-in takes place on that airline's website or app, following its own opening rules. If the ticket was bought through an agency, the applicable conditions should be checked directly with that agency.

Online, Vueling closes check-in shortly before departure for flights within the Schengen area, with several exceptions that significantly extend this window: flights from or to outside the Schengen area, departures from Amsterdam, departures from Paris-Orly to a destination outside Schengen, and a list of airports where closing happens several hours before departure (Basel, Bastia, Geneva, Milan-Bergamo, Pisa, Turin, Malta, Oslo, Split, Corfu, Crete, Rhodes and others). Check the exact time shown on your booking, and don't rely on doing it at the last minute.

At airport counters, opening generally happens at least two hours before the flight, a little earlier for flights to or from a country outside Schengen. Closing time depends on origin and destination:

• flights entirely within the Schengen area: latest closing time, though still well before departure;
• Amsterdam exception: counters close earlier than for other Schengen flights;
• flights to or from a country outside Schengen: earlier closing;
• flights departing Paris-Orly to a destination outside Schengen: 75 minutes before departure.

Then comes the boarding gate: the presentation time is printed on the boarding pass, and the gate closes before the scheduled departure time. Plan to arrive well ahead, as being late at this stage cannot be made up for.

Vueling offers three ways to get a boarding pass: online check-in through the website or app (the pass can then be printed, kept on your phone, or downloaded from the My Trips section), self-service check-in kiosks available at certain airports, and the check-in counter on the day of the flight. At the counter, present your identification document (ID card or passport, depending on the destination) at the check-in counter: the boarding pass is then handed over by airline staff.

One point often discovered too late: if the boarding pass has no QR code or barcode, it isn't valid for passing security checks or reaching the gate, and you'll need to go back to the airport counters to get a valid one. All the more reason to arrive with time to spare.

The mobile version is accepted, and the airline points out that it avoids printing paper unnecessarily. Reprinting remains possible at the self-service kiosks.

Without checked baggage, the boarding pass obtained online lets you go straight to the boarding gate on the day of the flight. With a bag to check in, Vueling still recommends checking in online and only going to the counter to drop off the suitcase.

Self-service check-in kiosks are installed at several airports served by the airline: Alicante (ALC), Barcelona (BCN), Copenhagen (CPH), Paris-Orly (ORY), London Gatwick (LGW), Málaga (AGP) and Rome Fiumicino (FCO). They issue the boarding pass and print the checked baggage tag. Drop-off then varies: at Alicante, Barcelona, Copenhagen, Paris-Orly and London Gatwick, you drop off the suitcase yourself after scanning the tag; at Málaga and Rome, it's handed over at a counter.

Cabin and checked baggage allowances depend on the fare and options purchased: check the details of your booking. To prepare a departure or return with another carrier, see also Iberia online check-in, the procedure with Iberia Express or the rules for Aer Lingus, airlines within the same group, as well as the Air Europa and Binter pages for Spanish and Canary Islands routes.

Several issues come up repeatedly. Online check-in isn't open yet for the fare concerned: on Fly Light without a chosen seat, you need to wait for the last twenty-four hours before the flight. The booking reference is missing: it appears in the confirmation email, which can be requested again. The flight is operated by another airline: the procedure then takes place with that operator. Finally, if a minor's presence wasn't declared at the time of purchase, check-in must be done at the airport counters or by phone with customer service; otherwise, minors, whether alone or accompanied, can be checked in online.

If there's a problem at check-in, Vueling issues boarding passes at the airport counters. If no randomly assigned seats are left, a seat is assigned at the counter on the day of the flight, at no extra cost. Travellers can also hand over their online check-in to iBoardingPass, an independent paid service unrelated to airlines that covers more than 227 airlines. It carries out check-in on the traveller's behalf, automatically, as soon as the airline's check-in opens, and sends the boarding pass by email.