US airport worker fired for giving passenger 'You ugly!' note

The worker passes the note to Strassner. Photo / Supplied

An airport security worker in New York has been fired for handing a passenger a handwritten note that said "You ugly!!!"

The June incident came to light this week after passenger Neal Strassner obtained security video through a public records request and posted it to YouTube .

The video from Greater Rochester International Airport shows the worker handing Strassner the note after he passes through a metal detector.

Strassner says he didn't think much of it and continued toward his gate. That's when he says the woman yelled out: "You gonna open the note?"

The worker laughed when Strassner read the note. Photo / Supplied

Strassner says that when he did, the woman burst out laughing. He later complained to her supervisors.

CCTV footage shows the woman laughing hysterically as he reads the note.

Strassner told the NY Post: "I didn't open it because I didn't care about it. She turned around a few times asking, 'Are you going to open that?'"

He said: "I travel constantly and I've never had anything like this happen.

"I don't like throwing negativity around. What about a note that says, 'Hey, next time bring me tacos'?"

Strassner says he "doesn't like throwing negativity around." Photo / ABC13

Strassner obtained the video through a Freedom of Information request, presenting it to security staff, which lead to the woman being fired.

The Transportation Security Administration says the woman worked for a contractor. The agency says it has "zero tolerance for this type of behaviour".

-Additional reporting, AP