The aviation regulator has warned UK airports they will face enforcement action if they keep failing disabled and less mobile passengers.
The Guardian reported that the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) has demanded airports set out improvements and said it will use enforcement powers, which include court orders, if failures continue.
A key concern is a series of incidents in which wheelchair users were abandoned on aircraft or offered no help despite having booked assistance.
The Guardian quoted the aviation regulator’s letter which was sent to all UK airports and said: “The CAA is very concerned about the increase in reports that we have received of significant service failings.”
The CAA expressed its alarm and disappointment at the “dip in performance at some airports” in assistance for disabled passengers. It said: “Our own reporting framework tells us that many more disabled and less mobile passengers have had to wait longer.”
The CAA also said that staff shortages at airports were no excuse. It said: “Despite the current disruption, these incidents could have been avoided by better management of the assistance service function by airports and their contracted service providers.”
It instructed airports to respond by 21 June saying what they have done to “stop the significant service failures happening in the future”.
It added: “The provision of service to disabled and less mobile passengers is something that the industry must get right as quickly as possible.”
The CAA said it was committed to getting performance levels back to levels seen before the pandemic, and beyond.
Fazilet Hadi, head of policy at Disability Rights UK, told The Guardian she welcomed the letter.
She said: “We are pleased that the letter recognises that even in normal times assistance services weren’t always of good quality and calls on the industry to improve practice going forward. We hope that the CAA will keep a close watch on the situation and use any powers it has to ensure disabled travellers get the support we need.”
