The secret name airline workers might call you if you queue early for flights

Airport staff have revealed what they secretly call passengers who queue too early for flights. Passengers are often faced with long queues at airports as they eagerly wait in line to board their planes.

Not only do you have to queue to check-in, but then there is also passport control and security. Even a last-minute stop at Wetherspoon and Boots before boarding your flight can see you forced to wait in a long line.

While there are some passengers who linger and hold back until the final moments to board their plane, it seems there are some travellers who have to be the first in the queue. For those keen passengers, airline staff have a special name for them.

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These kind of travellers are cheekily dubbed 'gate lice'. According to psychologist Dr Audrey Tang, the urge to get on the plane first could be about feeling in control.

She told Metro: "Queueing for boarding as soon as we are able to can help us to feel in control, which in turn makes us feel less stressed. This is more likely to be true for people who have experience of being late.

"Knowing you have faff time, especially with luggage or children, can also play a part. Maybe some people just like to be first, but it’s largely to do with keeping ourselves calm."

But Shira Gabriel, a psychology professor at the University at Buffalo, said it might come down to following the crowd. She told the Washington Post: "People use other people as sources of information both about what the right thing to do is and about what everyone else is doing.

"People will do any weird thing if they think that’s the way to behave. When you see people lining up, getting ready, it makes you feel there’s a benefit for that."