Verbally abusing a gate agent or another staff person at an airport in the United States could carry a harsh penalty, U.S. government officials posit. They say a 9/11-era law that criminalizes verbal or physical assaults on Transportation Security Administration agents and law enforcement officers should also apply to other airport workers with security duties.

The 2001 Aviation and Transportation Security Act laid out penalties for such attacks on airport personnel, including any acts that interfere with the duties performed by gate agents, ramp personnel and other airline workers who control access to airplanes and secure areas.

The U.S. Department of Justice and the U.S. Department of Transportation interpreted the measure narrowly, as applying only to TSA agents and police. But the DOJ recently said the law applies to all employees who have airport security duties, according to USA Today.

“…We also agree that the statutory language considers not only TSA and law-enforcement officers in this criminal offense, but also airport and air-carrier employees who have security duties in the airport,” said Peter Kadzik, assistant attorney general, Justice Department’s office of legislative affairs.

“A broader application … is especially needed in light of the troubling rise in violence we have seen against airline customer-service agents, including gate and ticket agents, who are responsible for ticketing, baggage claims, check-in and the orderly boarding of aircraft,” contends Edward Wytkind, president, Transportation Trades Department, AFL-CIO. “Assaults have often resulted in serious and sometimes life-altering injuries to airline personnel who are simply doing their jobs. In some cases the perpetrators have been arrested and prosecuted, but more often than not violent passengers face no legal consequences and are allowed to continue on with their trip. While modern air travel can be stressful and unpredictable, no amount of inconvenience can justify verbally or physically assaulting airline personnel.”