Increasing numbers of passengers are requesting assistance at airports, stretching resources at busy times as the government looks to improve accessibility for all passengers.
David Silk, aviation and airports director at the Department for Transport (DfT), suggested passenger expectations “are increasing” when he addressed the Airports UK conference in London this month.
Silk described accessibility as “of particular interest to the new set of ministers” in government.
The DfT set up an Aviation Accessibility Task and Finish Group in November to advise on improving accessibility.
Civil Aviation Authority group director for consumers and markets Selina Chadham told the Airports UK conference: “Rising numbers of passengers are requesting assistance [and] we need to work on targeted provision.”
However, Airports UK chief executive Karen Dee said: “Most airports are seeing double or triple the number of requests for assistance as [in] official data.”
The latest CAA Airport Accessibility Performance Report for 2023-24 notes almost 1.7% of passengers at UK airports seek support from staff to help them travel, up from 0.94% in 2010 and 1.35% in 2019.
However, some airports saw more than 2% of passengers request assistance last year.
This equates to 4.45 million requests for assistance by departing, arriving or connecting passengers, an increase of 21% on the 3.68 million who requested assistance in 2022-23.
The CAA reports 86% of requests for assistance were from people who are less mobile and need assistance around the airport, almost 6% were from people with more complex physical needs, often using their own wheelchair; and 8% for people who are blind, deaf or have another invisible disability.
Silk argued “we shouldn’t be surprised at numbers rising”, suggesting this was partly due to “rising expectations and awareness” and partly to an ageing population.
He said “We see this across services. We need to think about the operational reality of responding to it.”
The CAA provides advice on accessibility for air passengers and monitors and reports on the assistance airports and airlines provide.