A union is demanding that drunken air rage offenders be banned from airports altogether following a significant rise in abuse directed at airline staff. Workers have reported being groped, threatened with rape, and having hot drinks thrown in their faces by unruly passengers.
One customer service assistant was threatened with a sex attack at airport e-gates, while a female cabin crew member said a passenger grabbed her with both hands as she secured the cabin. Another worker had drinks “thrown in my face multiple times” after telling passengers they could not take them on board.
Survey reveals scale of abuse
A Unite union survey found that 72% of ground staff and 71% of cabin crew suffer verbal abuse at least once a month, with alcohol identified as the biggest trigger. More than a third of ground workers and 42% of cabin crew said they had experienced physical assaults at some point. Over half of ground staff also reported being threatened, with workers warning that this summer had been particularly bad.
Union calls for tougher action
Unite is demanding tougher action, including airport-wide bans for disruptive passengers, more police, panic alarms, and better training for staff. It also wants a national blacklist of troublemakers to prevent them from simply switching airlines after causing chaos. The union is calling for tougher punishments, with disruptive passengers currently facing fines of up to £5,000 and two years behind bars.
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. Airports and airlines now need to up their game on this.”
Industry response
Airports UK said workers deal with unruly passengers with “the utmost seriousness” and will not tolerate abuse directed at them. A Department for Transport spokesman said: “Any abuse of staff or passengers, whether on a flight or in the airport, is completely unacceptable.” The Government said it was working with industry and unions to improve information sharing about rogue passengers.
