Some travellers to Prague yesterday were asked to surrender their seats to make way for a group of illegal immigrants being deported.
The holiday makers due to leave for the capital of the Czech Republic around noon yesterday were delayed while immigration gardaí dealt with a group of eight adults who had earlier arrived from the country.
The immigrants arrived on the Travel Services flight from Prague yesterday morning.
Immigration gardaí were unable to confirm whether they had disembarked from the plane and were returned to it or had been detected as undocumented migrants while in the aircraft and held there pending departure.
As the return flight was already fully booked, some passengers were asked if they would volunteer to give up their seats to make way for the deportees.
A sufficient number of passengers did so and the flight departed at around 4.30 p.m.
Last weekend, some 57 illegal immigrants arrived at Dublin airport. Forty-one people were sent back while 16 claimed asylum.
Airlines and ferry companies are co-operating with immigration gardai in preparing for the planned introduction of on-the-spot fines for undocumented passengers brought to Ireland.