Abuse Doesn’t Fly

Airports and airlines “need to up their game” following the publication of a landmark survey by Unite, which lays bare the appalling scale of abuse suffered by airport workers across the UK.

Unite has launched its Abuse Doesn’t Fly Campaign which is calling for new laws to be introduced to ensure that violent and abusive passengers are banned from airports, and that these bans should be co-ordinated to ensure passengers can’t simply transfer to different airlines and airports.

The survey found that abuse and harassment is a regular part of airline and airport staff’s working experience with 72 per cent of ground staff and 71 per cent of cabin crew receiving verbal abuse at least monthly.

Meanwhile almost a third (31 per cent) of ground staff and 42 per cent of cabin crew had been physically assaulted.

Alcohol was found to be the biggest trigger for abuse from passengers with 95 per cent of cabin crew and 55 per cent of ground staff citing this, followed by flight delays or cancellations and baggage issues.

The experiences of workers dealing with unacceptable behaviour while just doing their job in the sector makes for grim reading, and can affect workers in all areas of the airport.

One female member of cabin crew based at Bristol Airport has witnessed a colleague being punched just for asking a passenger to put on a seatbelt and has been assaulted and threatened for telling a passenger “that he had to wait a second to disembark as we were waiting for buses”. 

She said, “Recently, I had a passenger grab my bum with both of his hands when I was securing the cabin. It was unprompted, I had never spoken to him.”

A male airside bus driver at Gatwick Airport explained that he had been hit and had hot coffee thrown in his face “multiple times after telling passengers they can’t take hot drinks on board”, and after trying to stop a violent passenger from boarding “was told by management that I had to let him on.”

He added that he has “received a lot of verbal abuse too. I’ve been sworn at or told to go ‘back home’ to my own country.” and there is nothing in place to warn fellow drivers about abusive passengers.

“The situation has definitely been getting worse in recent months and often management can be blasé about the abuse we get.”

A female, customer service member of staff added that, “Misogyny from passengers has definitely become worse in recent years. This summer has been particularly hard. A lot of the abuse directed at me comes because I am a woman and we are seen as easier targets. Multiple times I’ve been called a ‘b**ch’, I’ve been spat at and had passengers – male and female – say they are going to physically assault me. The mental pressure after a shift is huge and we are not safe at work.

“I was even threatened with rape by a male passenger who was on his phone at the E gates when I told him to put it away. It was a very distressing experience. He was allowed to go through still and another staff member even apologised to him. I received no support.”

Any abuse or harassment of workers by members of the public should be tackled by their employer, and Unite is calling on airlines and airports to take the safety of its staff seriously.

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.”

On Friday (30 October), changes to the law around third-party harassment came into force as part of the Employment Rights Act 2025. These changes will mean employers such as airlines and airports must take all reasonable steps to prevent harassment of workers by third parties, such as customers or passengers, otherwise they will be liable.

Meanwhile, the aviation bill is currently going through parliament. This includes measures about disruptive passengers, but Unite does not believe that the bill currently goes far enough to protect workers.

Urgent change is needed. Unite has now launched its Abuse Doesn’t Fly campaign, which is calling for:

1. A clear, national, worker-led approach to abusive and disruptive passenger behaviour in the form of a Worker Safety Charter. Out of those surveyed by Unite, 98 per cent of workers (ground staff and cabin crew) supported this plan.

2. Giving airports and airlines the power to ban disruptive and abusive passengers, as well as the power to coordinate between airports to make this effective.

3. Minimum standards  to be introduced across the industry, ensuring workers are adequately protected from abuse and are properly supported when incidents occur. 

These should include an increased police presence during peak times, improved recording procedures for abuse incidents at airports, panic alarms for workers, counselling services and training for workers as well as regular joint reviews of incidents by operators and union representatives.

Unite points out that too often the focus is only on incidents on board the aircraft itself and believes if abuse is not challenged properly at the airport there is a risk of it simply moving further down the passenger journey. This is why it is crucial that a ban can be triggered by aggressive behaviour in the terminal itself.

The Civil Aviation Bill will give the Civil Aviation Authority the power to ban disruptive passengers across multiple airlines – yet this only applies to abuse that happens on the plane itself.

However, Unite’s campaign is looking to have this extended so airports can intervene early and stop abuse before travellers board.

Unite’s survey found that when questioned on the adequacy of the support available after experiencing abuse, 71 per cent of ground staff and 60 per cent of cabin crew reported that management support was not adequate, with reporting procedures also judged to be inadequate by 74 per cent of ground staff and 62 per cent of cabin crew.

A previous survey by Unite from 2025 found 34 per cent of women working in civil air transport had been sexually harassed at work.

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.”

Unite is also encouraging MP’s to sign Early Day Motion (EDM) 639.

Peter Lamb MP for Crawley, home to thousands of workers employed at Gatwick Airport, has been working with Unite on the Abuse Doesn’t Fly campaign, tabling the EDM in July.

Peter said, “With Gatwick Airport on our doorstep, thousands of Crawley residents work in aviation, and I know just how important it is that they can go about their jobs without facing abuse, threats or violence”

“Nobody should go to work worrying about being shouted at, threatened or physically assaulted simply for doing their job. Equally, passengers should be able to travel without their journeys being ruined by the unacceptable behaviour of a small minority.”

“I have been proud to be campaigning on the Abuse Doesn’t Fly campaign, including raising the issue in Parliament. For too long, passengers banned from one airline have been able to simply book with another. Greater cooperation between airlines will help close this loophole and send a clear message that abusive and disruptive behaviour has consequences.”

For more about Unite’s Abuse Doesn’t Fly campaign go here. 

By Keith Hatch