Now Boarding
Air travel still remains largely inaccessible for many disabled people and this needs to change. The findings from our Now Boarding report showed that almost two-thirds of disabled people have difficulty boarding flights and many had experienced negative attitudes from staff at airports and on board flights. Leonard Cheshire Disability is calling for all airport and airline authorities to ensure that air travel is accessible for everyone and they must take their responsibility to do so seriously.Campaign update - Now Boarding: A Year On
It is now nearly a year since the new regulation came into force to improve the accessibility of air travel for disabled passengers travelling to and from the UK.
We want to hear from all disabled passengers that have used air travel since July 2009 when the regulation came into place. You can help us by filling in our survey Now Boarding: a Year On
In April 2009 campaigners visited BAA Gatwick Airport to do a run through of the process from check-in to boarding and meet with airport staff. They advised airport staff on improvements that could be made to the check-in and boarding process and the facilities in the check-in and departure areas such as assessing the visual accessability of the signage and availability of hearing loop systems. Survey responses:
Many of you have filled out our survey, 'How accessible is your local airport?' to tell us about your air travel experiences. You can see some of the responses so far and find a link to the survey on this page. Findings from the surveys completed so far include:
- Only 52% of respondents said that seating in the airport was accessible
- Respondents often described staff as very efficient and polite but 74% of respondents said that the staff providing them with assistance did not have a good knowledge of their impairment and how to meet their needs. Some of the responses received so far:
'The porter did not carry the case but only pushed my chair, leaving my wife to carry the heavy bags. Handling staff said that they were trained but I later found out that the training consisted of lifting heavy sacks.'
'On arrival I found a special assistance desk and they were so very helpful.'
'I had to be manually helped into the seat on the aircraft and was last on and the staff didn't know how to lift me correctly. Staff need to be properly trained.'
'Although I had family with me, I was assisted at every point.'
'My destination airport said that they had no knowledge of me and didn't offer assitance to disabled people there. My carer was told by an English lady working for a UK travel operator and I quote, "If she can't mangage without assistance then she should stay at home." We were both astonished by this treatment.'
