Airport workers at Heathrow and across the UK aviation sector are reporting widespread abuse from passengers, with nearly two-thirds saying they face frequent verbal abuse and almost four in ten saying they have been physically assaulted, according to a new union survey.
The poll, conducted by Unite the Union, found that 65 per cent of staff reported frequent verbal abuse on the job, with 39 per cent saying they had been physically assaulted. A striking 89 per cent had witnessed a colleague being abused.
Sharon Graham, general secretary of Unite, 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.”
Alcohol was identified as the leading trigger for passenger abuse, followed by flight delays, cancellations and baggage issues.
The findings have prompted Unite to launch its “Abuse Doesn’t Fly” campaign, which calls for new laws to ban violent and abusive passengers from airports. The union argues that current proposals under the Aviation Bill do not go far enough, as they only cover incidents that occur onboard aircraft. Unite wants coordinated airport-wide bans and the introduction of a Worker Safety Charter, supported by 98 per cent of those surveyed.
The union is also calling for industry-wide minimum standards to protect staff and ensure they receive proper support after incidents. This includes better reporting systems, increased police presence during peak periods, zero-tolerance signage, and counselling services.
The survey, which gathered around 1,800 responses from members across the civil air transport sector, included ground staff, cabin crew, security personnel and baggage handlers.
The campaign puts the spotlight on the working conditions of the thousands of staff who keep the UK’s airports running — from check-in desks and security lanes to baggage halls and aircraft cabins — and on whether current protections match the scale of abuse the survey describes.
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