Aer Lingus, the national flag carrier airline of Ireland, is facing criticism from passengers who are unable to input fadas into the airline's booking system.
The issue is reportedly due to the age of the system, which is more than 50 years old and does not support the use of fadas, a character in many Irish names.
Although the airline has acknowledged the issue to the Irish Mirror and is "considering implementing reasonable steps" to fix it, the problem has led to frustration for passengers who are trying to input their names and other details accurately.
READ MORE: National Transport Authority slammed over refusal to spell Irish names with fadas on Leap cards
Not being able to use special characters is understandably a major issue for many people in Ireland, people with names like Róisin, Éabha, Aoibhín, Áine, Seán, Oisín, Rían and Tomás are all unable to input their names into the system to have that exact name displayed on their boarding card.
Although the issue does not affect a passenger's ability to board their plane, with the airline noting to the Irish Mirror that “passengers with special characters on their passport, such as a fada, will be accepted for travel”, it has been a major point of annoyance for many taking a flight with the airline.
Many people with fadas in their names have taken to social media to share their frustration.
One person posted: “You have got to be kidding me, Aer Lingus. Absolutely disgraceful that you are still not accepting the fada. Náireach amach is amach.”
Another added, alongside a screenshot of them being unable to input their name into the system: “But Aer Lingus the name on my passport has a fada...!”
In one more tweet, a mother expressed their frustration that they were unable to spell their child’s name correctly, posting: “Why am I unable to spell my little boy's name correctly when trying to book a flight?
“Surely for an Irish Airline, I should be able to use a fada. His name is Rían not Rian.”
Jokingly posting a picture of their receipt from a chipper, another tweeted: “Chippy in Camloch, Árd Mhacha Theas, has no problem with the fada. Maybe Aer Lingus should contact them to see how it's done.”
According to the airline, the issue is due to the fact that its booking system, called Astral, has been in place for more than 50 years, and as a result does not cater for the use of special characters.
In a statement to the Irish Mirror, a spokesperson for the airline explained: “The Aer Lingus booking system, Astral, which was developed in the late 60s cannot facilitate the use of special characters as it was built on a platform which does not cater for special characters.
“We recognise the limitations of the system with respect to accepting special characters and apologise to customers for any inconvenience caused.
“As part of future systems development, we are considering implementing reasonable steps to address this issue.”
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