More than nine in 10 staff at Scotland’s three biggest airports say they were verbally abused at work in the past year. That was the finding of a Unite survey of more than 300 workers at Aberdeen, Edinburgh and Glasgow, published in March 2026. Some 29% said they had been physically assaulted.
The people on the receiving end are rarely pilots or cabin crew. They’re the security officers at the search lanes, the ground handlers at check-in and the passenger service assistants at the gate. Airports, unions and the police are responding in different ways.
What frontline staff are facing
The GMB union has found much the same across the UK. Its survey of aviation workers, published in March 2025, found that 88% had been affected by abuse at work. More than 72% felt unsafe going to work and 61% had considered changing jobs.
GMB National Officer Matt Roberts said: “No one should go into work worrying that they will be spat at, or headbutted, or punched or kicked.”
Unite’s survey points to a similar toll. Around a third of respondents had thought about leaving the industry and 77% said regular abuse had affected their mental health.
Trouble tends to flare in long security queues, at delayed gates and around passengers who have been drinking. UK Aviation News has previously asked whether alcohol should be banned on flights, but many problems start long before take-off.
Campaigns aimed at passengers
The most visible response so far has been aimed at travellers. The government-backed One Too Many campaign returned for its eighth year in 2026, with more than 20 airports taking part, including Heathrow, Gatwick, Manchester, Birmingham and Glasgow. AirportsUK, Airlines UK, the International Air Transport Association (IATA) and the UK Travel Retail Forum all back it.
Interfering with a flight carries a prison term of up to two years, delaying a departure risks a £5,000 fine and forcing a diversion can mean penalties as high as £80,000. Aviation Minister Keir Mather said “anti-social, disruptive and dangerous behaviour will not be tolerated.”
Some airports have gone further on the ground. Edinburgh Airport’s No Excuse For Abuse scheme links its own staff with Police Scotland, airlines, handling agents and retailers. Anyone in the network can report abusive or drunk passengers to the airport’s operational control centre, which shares the details so partners can keep watch and police can step in.
Body-worn cameras and better recording
Unions want measures that protect staff directly. GMB’s Airport Workers Against Abuse charter calls for body-worn cameras for all staff, compulsory collection of abuse data at every airport and an “Airport Watch” scheme with a radio network and rapid response. Unite is asking for panic alarms and better recording of incidents.
Cameras have become standard kit in retail and policing because they tend to change behaviour. Telling someone they’re being recorded often calms a confrontation before it escalates. If it doesn’t, the footage gives managers and the police a clear account of what happened.
Modern security body cameras record high-quality footage across a full shift and can stream live to a control room, so officers have both a visible deterrent and reliable evidence.
Take a hypothetical example. A passenger at a security lane becomes angry when told a bag must be searched again. The officer calmly explains that the camera is recording, and the passenger lowers their voice and steps back. Nobody is hurt and the queue keeps moving.
Training staff to de-escalate
GMB also wants in-depth, mandatory conflict de-escalation training for every airport worker, as well as managers who regularly walk passenger-facing areas.
The industry has shown it can roll out training at scale. The new protections for disabled passengers announced in October 2026 include staff training developed with their input.
New equipment needs the same attention. Guidance on training frontline teams on safety and communications tech recommends short, focused lessons and realistic incident simulations, so staff are confident with new tools before they need them.
What unions say still needs to change
Several union demands would need new laws. GMB is calling for a specific offence of assaulting an airport worker and a banning order scheme for abusive passengers. It also wants anyone on airport land treated in law as if they were inside an aircraft. Unite wants airport safety charters across the UK. None of these is in place yet.
Protecting the people who keep airports moving
Airports have made real progress in warning passengers about bad behaviour. The next step is giving every security officer and frontline worker the reporting systems, equipment and training to stay safe, to one standard across the UK.
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