Renowned Irish author Marian Keyes has urged passengers at Dublin Airport to help security staff who are "overworked" and "underpaid" amid ongoing queueing issues.
After passing through the airport this week, the Rachel's Holiday author said she was struck by the number of passengers leaving their trays behind unstacked at security.
Taking to Twitter, she said "it's just a small thing but if you're going through airport security please stack your tray afterwards."
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She addressed one or two passengers in particular as she wrote: "If you've just come through security in Dublin Airport in the last few minutes, in case you're wondering, the furious woman calling after you, 'I'll just stack the empty trays you abandoned, will I?' was me. There isn't enough staff, they're working like dogs, have a heart."
She went on to suggest the staff is "OVERworked and UNDERpaid" and blasted what she described at "the number of entitled a**holes at Dublin Airport right now, striding away leaving 'someone else' to do it, would make you cry."
The famous writer was also struck, that despite people queueing for longer than normal, a lot of people were still arriving at the security check area with banned items in their bags.
She joked: "Also the number of people who seemed terribly surprised that they couldn't bring their mini ground-to-air rocket launcher in their hand luggage was very high. My fecken coat was randomly selected for a search so I witnessed dozens of eejits who'd packed everything from scimitarsto to semi-automatic weapons to 50 gallons of crude oil in their wheely bags was quite astonishing."
She then added: "Maybe not actual crude oil etc but they'd left chargers, convertors, laptops and giant bottles of shampoo in the bags and the poor staff was blue in the face from searching."
It appeared a lot of people agreed with her that passengers could have the decency to stack up their trays as they leave security in Dublin Airport.
One woman replied: "Oh my god THANK YOU. Last time I went through security I must have stacked like 20 trays because I was so outraged seeing everyone walking off like they were in a restaurant. At least in a restaurant they'd have bloody tipped. So rude!"
Another said: "Honestly it’s shocking! I went through last month and stacked about six. And this was at 2.30!"
A third added: "I can't fathom why people don't automatically do this and other small gestures to make everyone's life easier and BE RESPECTFUL. Busy or not I always do that! And tidy my hotel room! And clear my tray at the fast food outlet (you get the idea)."
One former airport security worker went further: "I worked at Heathrow and am convinced that the world should be immediately divided into people who stacked their security tray and people who don’t. And shortly after that, the non-stackers should be fired directly into the sun."
A former Dublin Airport security staff member also vented: "I used to do security there, trays not being returned didn't bother me but people staring at you until they got to the top and then being surprised when asked for their belts, coats, liquids, iPads, baffled me, especially the family groups.
"Like it's been 16 years this rule of liquids and computers and metal objects on yourself how! How? How do people still not know?"
Security staff at Dublin Airport are under pressure while passengers are facing long queues amid a staffing issue there. Minister for Transport Eamon Ryan has indicated this week that soldiers may be drafted in to help at the airport to alleviate some of the delays.
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