It's not the first time that Michael O'Leary has checked-in Ryanair passengers, but Twitter nevertheless reacted wildly when it emerged that he was at it again this morning. 

The airline executive, who earns about €1.75m annually between his salary and related bonuses, was up bright and early getting travellers promptly on board their Dublin-London flight.

Gary Dunne, who was en route to the English capital, captured the moment on Twitter, much to the delight on his fellow social media users, who retweeted his images more than 100 times.

Back in December 2013, shortly after Mr O'Leary announced he was eager to change Ryanair's cheap and not-so cheerful image, he was also spotted at Dublin Airport lending a hand to check-in staff. 

A statement at the time revealed: "Yes, from time to time Michael likes to check boarding passes at the gate, so that he can personally tell our passengers that we love them just as much as they love us."

Last week, it was announced that the Irish airline was considering allowing passengers to bring their small pets on board into the cabin with them.