Ryanair boss Michael O'Leary today lashed out at trade unions at Dublin Airport, branding them "headbangers".
The outspoken chief executive blasted security workers' refusal to operate a new check-in scheme aimed at speeding up the process for passengers.
The low-cost airline introduced a service in which travellers with hand luggage only could use the Internet to check-in rather queuing at an airport desk. Boarding cards would then be scanned by security staff at the gate.
Ryanair argue the procedure saves time for flyers and reduces the amount of work for security staff who currently have to read boarding cards.
"Dublin Airport Authority had no problem with it, for the same reasons we don't. It reduces queues and it makes the work of the security staff even simpler," said Mr O'Leary.
There was no good reason for the workers' refusal to co-operate with the scheme which was began rolling out last week. "It's not up to a bunch of trade union headbangers to decide who will and who won't go through the airport," he told RTE radio.
"Anytime you try to introduce something to ease passengers' journeys, you have unions saying we need to go to the Labour Relations Court."
He urged passengers affected by the stand-off to write letters of complaint to the Taoiseach and the unions involved.
Dermot O'Loughlan, aviation branch secretary with Siptu said Ryanair referred the matter to the Labour Relations Court. He told News at Onethe unions were not informed of the development and only discovered it last week through the media.
He also said other outstanding needed to be resolved.