It is the time of the year that is, apparently, the worst for absenteeism – and security staff at Edinburgh Airport have been taking the occasion very seriously according to a report in the Scotsman .

A raft of sick days were reportedly taken by employees at the Scottish airport yesterday, marginally jumping the gun by a few hours on the day that has been dubbed National Sickie Day .

Passengers were apparently told that almost all of the airport’s security staff members had called in ill, creating a “massive queue” at security after check-in.

The Scotsman quoted a management consultant, David Mason, who said he had been waiting in line at security for more than an hour.

He said: “I was told that 13 out of 14 security staff members had called in sick.

“The crowd is being very patient at the moment, but I’m sure that could change. There has been absolutely no information given to passengers.”

[Editor's note: A spokesman for Edinburgh Airport says there were only three security staff who called in sick last night].

Other people criticised the delays on social networks, with at least one passenger worried about missing a flight due to the wait.

@British_Airways I might miss my flight, I have checked in however Edinburgh Airport security line is extremely bad! Help!! — Keith Murray (@KeithJMurray84) February 1, 2015

Several suggested that the problems were the result of a transition between old and new security halls.

Outrageous queuing for security at Edinburgh airport. Line starts at check-in desks. — Jen Dougan (@JenDtweeting) February 1, 2015

In November last year, the Edinburgh-based crime novelist Ian Rankin lambasted his delay at the airport, Officials there said they were working hard to make sure the security system was working “as efficiently as possible”.

Airport staff also responded to last night's delays with an apology on the airport’s official Twitter feed.

We apologise for the delays at security tonight. Our teams are working hard to get you through safely and as quickly as possible. — Edinburgh Airport (@EDI_Airport) February 1, 2015

The delays were attributed to “exceptional passenger numbers”.

However, their apology was not met with much understanding from passengers.

@EDI_Airport tell the truth .... The new Security hall is a shambles and less efficient than the old one — Brian Rafferty (@BCRafferty) February 1, 2015

Others wondered if there was any connection between the Old Firm derby between Celtic and Rangers which took place at the same time as the reported absences.

#edinburghairport #staffsickies #workshy wonder how many of the security staff were really sick ..or was the football keeping them in bed — Donald MacLeod (@DonaldCMacleod) February 2, 2015

A spokesman from Edinburgh Airport said: "The issue has been resolved and no problems experienced at security today.

"Unfortunately we did experience some staff absence last night but I can’t confirm numbers." [Editor's note: See update below]

*Update at 3.20pm

Stuart Young, a spokesman for Edinburgh Airport, has since clarified there were only three security staff who called in sick on Sunday evening, although he was unable to confirm how many were scheduled to be on the security staff yesterday evening.

"A lot of passengers arrived in a short space of time, and unfortunately that did cause much longer delays than usual last night," he said. "We apologise profusely for those delays."

He added that no flights were delayed, and that staff were able to prioritise passengers according to the urgency of their departure.