GLASGOW Airport and Police Scotland have warned passengers that disruptive behaviour will not be tolerated.
The airport’s Campus Watch drive was introduced in 2013 in partnership with Police Scotland to tackle disruptive behaviour at Glasgow Airport and provides training, advice and support to staff who interact with passengers on a daily basis.
This includes check-in staff, security teams, bar and restaurant employees, retailers and airline crews.
One of the key aims of Campus Watch is early intervention.
Staff across the campus are encouraged to report the details of any potential incident of disruptive behaviour to the airport’s central control room through a dedicated phone.
This information, including passenger description and travel details, is shared with staff across the airport campus via a rapid text alert system.
Glasgow Airport has also invested more than £10,000 this year to introduce a new digital radio system to help disseminate live Campus Watch intelligence across the terminal in addition to the text system.
Disruptive behaviour can cover a broad range of offences and actions can range from a verbal warning to arrest. For instance, if an incident is alcohol related the passenger involved will be warned about their behaviour by Police Scotland officers, refused service across all retail and catering outlets and gate staff will be notified in advance of their arrival. Gate staff can then speak to the passenger and determine if they should be permitted to board the aircraft.
Glasgow also launched a national advertising campaign this week to remind passengers of their responsibilities when travelling through the airport this year.
Francois Bourienne, chief commercial officer for Glasgow Airport’s parent group AGS Airports Ltd, said: “For many of our passengers, the airport experience signals the start of their holiday and there’s nothing wrong with this.
“We want to ensure our passengers continue to enjoy a memorable but ultimately safe and disruption-free experience.
“While it’s important to stress that the vast majority of passengers travelling through our doors do so responsibly and that incidents are extremely rare, Glasgow Airport continues to operate a zero tolerance approach to disruptive behaviour.
“Our Campus Watch system is effective because we work closely with our airline partners, retailers, caterers and Police Scotland representatives to address and often pre-empt incidents of disruptive behaviour at the airport.
“While we’ve chosen our peak summer period to promote this drive, Campus Watch is a year-round initiative.
“Thanks to our early-intervention approach to challenging disruptive behaviour, we’ve a seen a significant reduction in the number of incidents during the first five months of the year.
“However, one incident will always be one too many, particularly as disruptive behaviour can disproportionately affect a large number of passengers on board an aircraft.
She added: “Campus Watch
sends a clear message to what remains a very small minority of people acting in a disruptive manner that we continue to
take a zero-tolerance approach to unacceptable behaviour.”
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