Airport workers routine facing abuse and misogyny, says Unite

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Launching its Abuse Doesn’t Fly campaign, the union has called for the forthcoming Aviation Bill, which already includes provisions allowing airlines to ban disruptive passengers, to not only extend that power to airports but allow bodies to share information and co-ordinate bans.

The demand comes as a new Unite survey found 72 per cent of ground staff and 71 per cent of cabin crew say they encounter verbal abuse at least monthly, while 31 per cent of ground staff and 42 per cent of cabin crew had been physically assaulted at work.

One female customer service worker told the survey misogyny had “become worse in recent years,” saying: “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.”

That experience was borne out in the survey’s figures, with 71 per cent of ground staff and 60 per cent of cabin crew reporting that management support was not adequate.

Unite general secretary Sharon Graham said abuse was “not part of the job,” saying: “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.”

The Department for Transport called any abuse “completely unacceptable,” adding: “That’s why we are working with industry and trade unions to create a system for sharing information on persistently disruptive passengers, making disruptors easier to spot, keeping staff and passengers safer from the get-go.”

AirportsUK, the national trade association representing UK airports, said airports treated safety with the “utmost seriousness and do not tolerate any abuse directed at them.”

A spokesperson added: “Staff at our airports work very hard to ensure a safe and pleasant experience for all passengers and we would encourage anyone travelling to treat everyone there with the respect and dignity they deserve.”

Airlines UK, representing airlines, was contacted for comment.