‘Gate lice’ often cause delays with their impatience (Picture: Getty Images)

For me, one of the worst things about the airport is all the waiting in line. 

First, you queue for check-in, then passport control and security, then in the line for your Boots meal deal, and then again for the toilet.

With that in mind, the last thing I want to do when I’m travelling is spend more time standing in a queue than I need to — it’s why I’m often one of the last to board the plane.

Others don’t quite seem to have this mindset, though, and choose instead to queue up from the minute the gate opens.

And airline employees have a name for these types: gate lice.

Urban Dictionary perhaps has the best definition for gate lice:

‘Passengers, often inexperienced flyers in [economy] class, who crowd around or line up at a gate at an airport completely blocking the boarding area and preventing First and Business Class passengers from being able to get on the plane when they’re allowed to. 

‘They can also cause delays and confusion if a passenger in a wheelchair needs to board as the chair has to plough through the mass of gate lice hovering around the gate.’

‘When it’s time to board, they have to be shooed from the front boarding area to the back of the line, delaying the flight for everyone.’

Why do people queue unnecessarily?

To many, it’s a mystery why ‘gate lice’ are the way they are. We all have assigned seats, and getting on the plane faster doesn’t mean you’ll take off any faster. 

In fact, I’d even argue that being on the plane for longer than necessary is just as uncomfortable as queuing for longer than necessary.

Psychologist Dr Audrey Tang thinks it’s about feeling in control. ‘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,’ she tells Metro.co.uk. 

‘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.’

It’s more about conformity than practicality (Picture: Getty Images)

This makes sense. If you’re an anxious traveller, knowing you are where you need to be and don’t need to do anything else is likely to help you relax.

Not to mention, there’s rarely enough room in the overhead lockers for everyone’s bags, so boarding early ensures you get a space.

But beyond practicality, other psychologists believe that many people queue up for boarding simply because everybody else is doing it.

‘People use other people as sources of information both about what the right thing to do is and about what everyone else is doing,’ Shira Gabriel, a psychology professor at the University at Buffalo, told the Washington Post.

‘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.’

So, there you have it. 

Next time you’re thinking about queueing for your flight, despite the fact that your boarding number hasn’t been called yet, you might want to think lice – oops, twice.