Passengers with accessibility needs report mixed flying experiences

Air passengers with accessibility needs are less satisfied with the experience of air travel than able consumers, according to Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) research. But they are more satisfied with air travel than other forms of transport.

A survey of 3,500 UK adults, conducted last autumn, found 61% had flown in the previous 12 months, eight percentage points up year on year, but only 41% of those with disabilities had flown.

Two-thirds of people with disabilities who had flown (69%) said they were satisfied with the flight and airport experience compared with 78% of all air travellers. But this compared favourably with satisfaction rates on other forms of transport – 54% on trams, tubes and buses and 51% on railways.

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Three out of five respondents with a disability (59%) reported difficulty in using airports, the same as the previous year. But the CAA found “marked improvements across the airport experience, especially at the end of the journey”.

Those with disabilities were least satisfied with airport shops and services and the experience at boarding gates, and most satisfied with airport security and finding their gate. However, the biggest improvement year on year was in satisfaction with airport baggage collection – up 17 percentage points year on year.

The survey found the proportion of disabled passengers requiring assistance had risen, up four percentage points year on year to 71%, with those with physical disabilities or health conditions most likely to seek help.

However, the increase in assistance requests at airports appears much greater. The CAA’s most-recent Airport Accessibility Performance Report, published last August, recorded 4.45 million requests for assistance at UK airports between April 2023 and March 2024, up from 3.68 million the previous year, and the proportion of passengers requesting assistance had risen by 25% since 2019 to 1.69%.

The CAA noted an increase in the proportion of disabled people in the population but also suggested: “Passengers may be more inclined to request assistance, as a result of a greater awareness.”

The annual report rated 11 airports ‘very good’, 12 ‘good’ and five as ‘needing improvement’ – Gatwick, Bristol, Cardiff, Liverpool and Norwich.

No airports were rated ‘poor’, but the CAA labelled those needing improvement “disappointing” and criticised Gatwick for its “accuracy of data recording and reporting”, noting “it did not accurately reflect the service provided to arriving passengers . . . [with] some being left for unacceptable periods of time in corridors”.

Heathrow was among the airports rated ‘good’, but the CAA noted that while Terminals 2, 4 and 5 exceeded its targets for ‘very good’, “infrastructure challenges” at Terminal 3 required arriving disabled passengers “to move between pieces of equipment”.

Luton, Manchester, London City, Aberdeen, Birmingham, Edinburgh, Bournemouth and Belfast International were also rated ‘good’, and Belfast City, East Midlands, Glasgow, Stansted, Leeds Bradford, Newcastle, Southampton and Teesside as ‘very good’.