Heathrow failed to meet minimum accessibility standards, CAA report finds

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Heathrow failed to meet the minimum accessibility standards for disabled passengers in the year to March, the sector’s regulator has said. The airport was the only one in the UK to be rated as “poor” and “needs improvement” by the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) over all four quarters in the period, according to the report. Eighteen airports received good or very good ratings and seven airports improved from poor to good. Heathrow was an outlier, however, not having met the criteria for a good rating. Heathrow’s chief operating officer, Emma Gilthorpe, said: “Last year we didn’t consistently deliver an appropriate level of service for passengers requiring extra support with their journey through the airport. Between 2019 and 2022, disabled and less mobile passengers represented 2.38% of all passengers at Heathrow, the highest proportion in the UK, according to the regulator. “I want to reassure those passengers that we have put in place a strong plan which is turning that around and we are now meeting service targets,” said Gilthorpe. The report covers 26 of the UK’s largest airports, in an industry that has encountered unprecedented challenges in recruitment, industrial action and equipment shortages since the Covid-19 pandemic. Last year, the airport was one of several, including Bristol, Leeds Bradford and Luton, to come under scrutiny from the aviation regulator after many disabled and less mobile passengers missed flights or had to wait for extended periods. Scope, a disability charity in England and Wales, described the findings as a “world away” from the reality of disabled passengers who were being let down by the air industry. “Instead of the industry marking its own homework, there needs to be much tougher punishments to reflect how serious these problems are,” said Charlotte Morley, the charity’s consumer affairs policy adviser. “Enough is enough. It’s time to start fining airlines and airports when they fail disabled passengers. The government has committed to bringing more legislation in, but it needs to happen now. Disabled people have been waiting far too long.” In 2022, a CAA survey found that disabled respondents with physical disabilities or health conditions said they were considerably more likely to experience difficulty in accessing airports or flying, with 70% of such passengers requiring assistance. The number of passengers requiring assistance has risen in recent years. In 2022, 3.45 million people – or 1.56% of all passengers – received assistance across UK airports, compared with 1.35% of passengers requiring assistance prior to the pandemic. The joint-interim chief executive at the CAA Paul Smith said the industry was making strides toward returning accessibility levels to those seen before Covid-19. “It’s also important to acknowledge that there is still a way to go in providing a consistently good service for disabled and less mobile passengers across the industry, particularly for those with more complex needs, and throughout the busier summer months,” said Smith.