A lot of EZY Ryanair and Wizz check in is all done online now and they use self bag drop facilities so the check in area might suffice?
Yes, check in online is done by most passengers these days I would say...however, there simply isn't enough room now in T1 check in with the EZY drop off machines as an example...that area wasn't designed for the "normal" times of recent summers with those amount of passengers.
I personally think the integration as 1 terminal would be better for the passenger...but I imagine it won't be easy configuring the different areas to suffice.