From bomb threats to break-ins, vehicle crime to VIP visits – police serving Aberdeen International Airport see it all.
And new figures show they are more proactive than ever in keeping people safe as they fly in and out of the region’s biggest transport hub.
Our investigation has revealed officers patrolling the airport dealt with a record number of incidents in 60 categories in 2024 – from animals causing a problem to assisting famous visitors.
The latest data showed there were incidents in 38 of those categories this year, ranging from explosives being found – on five occasions – to lost property complaints, including misplaced mobile phones, on two occasions.
Note: CBRN in the table remove refers to incidents classed as ‘chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear’ related.
The detailed data provides an insight into the wide range of issues airport staff and police officers deal with on a daily basis.
Drugs and disturbances
According to the Police Scotland statistics, they handled 724 incidents in 2024 – an increase of 260 on 2023.
However, the lion’s share of those incidents are classed as ‘police generated activity’ – and that can be something as simple as a police patrol of the terminal building.
There were 363 of those police-generated activity incidents in 2024 – exactly half of all incidents overall for the year.
That compares with 153 police-generated activity incidents in 2023.
And perhaps that is not a surprise given that police officers have been carrying out Project Servator in recent years.
According to the Counter Terrorism Unit (CTU), the project is aimed at “disrupting a range of criminal activity, including terrorism, while providing a reassuring presence for the public”.
“Project Servator involves police carrying out highly visible and unpredictable deployments that can happen anywhere at any time,” the CTU says.
Today our specialist trained #ProjectServator Officers deployed @ABZ_Airport . We engaged with members of the public, airport employees and partner agencies alike. Our goal is to make Aberdeen Airport as safe as possible for everyone to use. Collectively we #KeepPeopleSafe pic.twitter.com/YMXRJ9dvqM
— Police Scotland Border Policing (@PSOSbpc) April 12, 2023
Some of the other incidents listed in the data were more spontaneous though.
According to the statistics, the airport this year dealt with 21 disturbances, 11 cases of drugs or substance misuse and one intruder.
There were 24 road traffic collisions, seven thefts. two incidents involving drones in and around the airport, two abandoned vehicles, one sexual offence and one firearms incident.
Suspicious phone calls
Some of the recorded incidents involve police vigilance.
For example, there were seven ‘suspicious incidents’, six incidents involving ‘suspect persons’ and one incident related to a bail enquiry.
There were 18 occasions where people called the airport and did not speak or hung up, nine ‘concern for person’ incidents and one immigration incident.
Throughout the year, the airport hosted 32 VIP visits, including King Charles and Queen Camilla in April and Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer in August.
But most of the data relates to proactive policing – including 60 occasions where officers have assisted members of the public seeking help and 28 occasions where they assisted third-party organisations.
While the statistics – provided under freedom of information law – provide a valuable insight into life at the airport, it is limited.
Some of the categories, such as ‘police information’ are vague and others, such as ‘animals’ could be anything from creatures blocking the runway to a pigeon in the check-in area.
More proactive policing
And we do not know what became of the more sinister-sounding incidents, if anyone was arrested or charged or if it was merely a good-intentioned false alarm.
Given the biggest rise in figures comes from the categories related to proactive policing, it does indicate that police and partner agencies are stepping up efforts to reassure people using the airport, which changed hands in November.
Inspector Kelly Manson said: “We work very closely with our colleagues at Aberdeen Airport to ensure the area is a safe environment for everyone passing through.
“Our approach is to be proactive, and we know people are much more aware of issues these days and will report any incidents of concern.
“We will maintain our strong working relationship, and we hope this approach prevents incidents from occurring through a combination of early intervention, engagement and patrolling.”
An Aberdeen International Airport spokesman said: “We are committed to ensuring the airport remains a safe and welcoming environment for all passengers, staff, and visitors.
“Our strong partnership with Police Scotland is integral to this commitment, and we greatly value the proactive approach taken by the team, including early intervention, engagement, and patrolling measures.
“This collaborative effort reflects our shared goal of identifying and addressing any issues early, ensuring a safe and seamless experience for everyone who passes through our airport.”