Airport workers across Scotland are facing verbal abuse, physical assaults and intimidation from passengers, with a major union survey revealing the scale of violence and harassment experienced by staff working in aviation.

Unite has launched a campaign demanding stronger legal powers to ban abusive passengers from airports and airlines, following a UK survey involving around 1,800 aviation workers, including employees at Aberdeen, Edinburgh and Glasgow airports.

The findings reveal that 72 per cent of ground staff and 71 per cent of cabin crew experience verbal abuse at least once a month.

More seriously, 31 per cent of ground staff and 42 per cent of cabin crew reported having been physically assaulted.

Alcohol was identified as the leading trigger for abusive behaviour, cited by 95 per cent of cabin crew and 55 per cent of ground staff, with flight disruptions and baggage problems also contributing to incidents.

The survey also found that 87 per cent of ground staff and 89 per cent of cabin crew had witnessed colleagues being abused.

Concerns extend to the support available afterwards, with 71 per cent of ground staff and 60 per cent of cabin crew describing management support as inadequate.

Unite general secretary Sharon Graham said:

“Abuse towards airport and aviation workers is not ‘part of the job’, it is a workplace safety issue that affects workers on the ground and in the air and can ultimately put other passengers at risk.

“All too often these workers are being left in harmful positions while doing very difficult jobs.

“Airports and airlines now need to up their game on this.

“They must make the safety of workers their top priority and work with Unite to stamp out workplace abuse once and for all.

“No worker should ever be put in dangerous situations for simply doing their job.”

The union’s Abuse Doesn’t Fly campaign is calling for a national approach that would allow airports and airlines to coordinate bans against serious or repeat offenders.

It also wants improved reporting procedures, stronger security arrangements, counselling for affected workers and greater protection throughout the passenger journey.

The campaign comes shortly after new provisions under the Employment Rights Act 2025 took effect on 30 October, strengthening employers’ responsibilities concerning harassment by third parties.

Unite argues that further legislation is necessary to ensure abusive passengers can be stopped before boarding an aircraft rather than allowing incidents to escalate during flights.

The experiences described by Scottish airport employees provide a troubling picture of what some workers encounter.

One female security worker said:

“Recently passengers have become more abusive, it’s getting to the point where it starts affecting you mentally.

“It’s a bit too much for my colleagues to take as well.

“Passengers who do this just get to continue their journeys, walk away and fly and we are left behind with the thoughts of what happened.

“I’ve had racist remarks towards me.

“One incident last year, the police were called and the passenger who made these remarks was stopped from flying that day.

“However, he was able to fly again the next day and I saw him a couple of weeks later in the airport.

“I felt angry that he could just come back to the airport and fly again.”

A male cabin crew member described an incident involving an intoxicated passenger who became violent following a disagreement about seating arrangements.

“An intoxicated passenger was unhappy about his seat and wanted me to fix it right there and then, I told him that we would have to wait until boarding was complete before we could move anyone due to weight and balance and the fact it was a full flight.

“The passenger grabbed me by the throat and held me against the wall of the aircraft before releasing me and sitting down.

“Another colleague stepped in and dealt with the situation.

“Airport authorities refused to come to the aircraft and remove the passenger and the passenger was unwilling to leave the aircraft.

“So we decided to fly with the passenger and met police on arrival at destination.

“Passenger was verbally abusive to the captain and authorities detained him while he was walking off the aircraft.”

A male cabin manager also described experiencing violence and inappropriate physical contact while working.

“I have been punched, grabbed and had unwanted touching.

“I have also seen colleagues being groped, hit and slapped.”

The union believes existing arrangements do not provide sufficient protection when aggressive behaviour begins inside airport terminals rather than on board aircraft.

Its proposals include a Worker Safety Charter, which received support from 98 per cent of the ground staff and cabin crew surveyed, alongside coordinated powers to exclude disruptive passengers.

Unite national officer Oliver Richardson said:

“Every aviation worker has the right to work free from abuse, threats, intimidation and violence.”

“We need coordinated action against serious or repeat offenders.

“If both airports and airlines have the legal right to ban disruptive passengers from flying, it would go a long way to ensuring workers are kept safe.”

The union is also calling for increased police presence during busy travel periods, mandatory warning signs, panic alarms in vulnerable airport areas and better training for employees dealing with aggressive passengers.

The findings follow a separate Unite survey in 2025 which found that 34 per cent of women working in civil air transport had experienced sexual harassment at work.

With thousands of passengers passing through Scotland’s airports every day, Unite wants the aviation industry and government to ensure that abusive behaviour is addressed wherever it occurs, from check in desks and security areas to aircraft cabins.