From Zero to Heathrow - PRM Charges in the UK
A birthday and some number crunching.
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Hello everyone,
This newsletter marks a significant milestone — it's been a whole year since I started sharing insights on accessibility in transport and aviation with you. I'm grateful for your support and engagement in the last 12 months, especially when I was so sick that I couldn't write this newsletter. I received amazing emails from readers I had never spoken to before.
This newsletter now has over 400 subscribers! I'm glad that so many of you are interested in improving accessibility in transport and aviation. A special thanks to everyone who has a paid subscription.
The Accessible Link is read in 29 countries and 30 US states. Nearly half of all readers are from the UK, followed by the US (24%), Germany (14%), Austria and Canada (both 3%).
As we progress, I'm excited to continue this journey with you, striving to make a difference one newsletter at a time.
Thank you from the bottom of my heart!
The Open Secret of PRM Charges
I always wanted to know what each airport in the UK charges to fund its assisted travel provision for disabled people. It's called the "PRM charge". PRM stands for "Persons with reduced mobility" and is EU legalese, now UK law legalese for everyone who needs assistance at an airport.
To guarantee disabled people get assistance at the airport when travelling, the PRM charge is a fee that airlines pay to the airport. It is based on a solidarity principle, so not only disabled people but every passenger counts for the PRM charge. Not all airports charge them, which you will see below, but the law gives them the power to do so.
In a freedom of information request, I asked the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) to tell me each airport's PRM charge. The CAA is the regulator responsible for ensuring that the service quality for disabled passengers at every airport is good. The CAA is also responsible for enforcing Regulation EC 1107/2006, which defines the rights of disabled passengers as retained under UK law.
I received the list and filled some gaps with my best effort and my own research. I only looked at airports with more than 150k passengers because that's where the law becomes applicable, too. Please forgive me if there are any copy/paste errors or typos. I tried my very best to show the data as best as possible. I did not use tables because they look awful in newsletters and for better readability with assistive devices.
There are Significant Differences
The differences between airports are significant, and the size of the airport is not always the reason. I have also added the passenger numbers reported by the CAA.
You should also know that airports are interested in achieving high pre-notification numbers of passengers who request assistance. That explains the category approach of four airports. They incentivise the airlines to tell them early how many disabled passengers they expect.
So below, you can see the airport's passenger numbers, PRM charge, and performance rating in two lists.
Here is my analysis:
Airports are divided into three groups based on their PRM charge.
1. No PRM charge
Only three airports fall into this category: Glasgow-Preswick, London City and Sumburgh. However, London City Airport charges a penalty per disabled passenger if the airline has bad notification habits.
2. PRM charge based on pre-notification numbers, which then define a price category
The big airports Gatwick, Heathrow, and Manchester fall into this group. Also, Edinburgh charges like that.
3. One PRM charge for all
This is the biggest group. All other airports fall into this category, but the PRM charges vary hugely. The lowest charge is 25p and is from the relatively small airport Teesside. Southampton has the highest PRM charge outside a category system, with £1.31.
Considering the ratings, it's clear that a decent PRM charge is very likely linked to a "very good" service performance. Nearly every airport that charges 90p or more performs well in the "one PRM charge for all" group. The exemption of the rule is Birmingham, but I heard they are changing their service provider soon.
On the other hand, money alone won't fix everything. The "category airports" Gatwick, Heathrow and Manchester still don't have the best ratings but have higher PRM charges than the rest. That might be related to their size, infrastructure and higher staffing needs. However, they have far higher budgets thanks to the PRM charge for solving all these problems.
Still, it's important to mention that airports can use their main budget to (partly) fund assisted travel services, not just the PRM charge. A low PRM charge doesn't necessarily mean the service is underfunded, but it could be the case.
I think a minimum mandatory PRM charge is the way forward, mainly because the number of passengers who request assistance is rising. The money should be strictly ring-fenced. It would be a good investment in the future anyway.
Alphabetical order of airports, their PRM charge and 2023 passenger numbers
Aberdeen
97p
Passengers: 2.2 million
Belfast City
65p
Passengers: 2.1 million
Belfast International
44p
Passengers: 5.9 million
Birmingham
£1.17
Passengers: 11.4 million
Bristol
90p
Passengers: 9.9 million
Bournemouth
51p
Passengers: 950k
Cardiff
80p
Passengers: 837k
City of Derry
50p
Passengers: 154k
East Midlands
97p
Passengers: 3.9 million
Edinburgh
>14 days notification £0.29
>36 hours £0.59
<36 hours £1.88
Passengers: 14.3 million
Exeter
£1.20
Passengers: 433k
Glasgow
£1.03
Passengers: 7.3 million
Glasgow-Prestwick
Passengers: 524k
Inverness
73p
Passengers: 801k
Leeds Bradford
75p
Passengers: 3.9 million
Liverpool
99p
Passengers: 4.2 million
London City
No PRM charge, but "For any airline failing to notify LCY in advance for more than 25% of PRM travellers, a penalty of £10 per PRM pax will be charged on every passenger above the level notified".
Passengers: 3.4 million
London Gatwick
Category 1 @ 65%+ prenotification at 36 hours £1.10
Category 2 @ 50-64.9% prenotification at 36 hours £1.32
Category 3 less 49.9% prenotification at 36 hours £3.31
Passengers: 40.8 million
London Heathrow
Category 1 @ 65%+ prenotification at 36 hours £1.30
Category 2 50-64.9% prenotification at 36 hours £1.56
Category 3 30-49.9% prenotification at 36 hours £3.91
Category 4 less 29.9% prenotification at 36 hours £6.51
Passengers: 79 million
London Luton
78p
Passengers: 16.4 million
London Stansted
58p
Passengers: 27.9 million
Manchester
Category 1 – at 50% or above prenotification at 36 hours £1.13 per departing passenger
Category 2 – at less than 50% prenotification at 36 hours £3.23 per departing passenger
Passengers: 28 million
Newcastle
80p
Passengers: 4.8 million
Newquay
50p
Passengers: 409k
Norwich
90p
Passengers: 358k
Southampton
£1.34
Passengers: 755k
Sumburgh
Passengers: 258k
Teesside
25p
Passengers: 226k
Airports by PRM charge and rating
No charge
Glasgow-Preswick 0 (4x Very Good)
London City 0 but £10 penalty rule (4x Very Good)
Sumburgh 0 (No rating)
One charge for all
Teesside - 25p (no rating)
Belfast International - 44p (4x Very Good)
City of Derry - 50p (4x Very Good)
Newquay - 50p (4x Very Good)
Bournemouth - 51p (4x Very Good)
London Stansted - 58p (1x Poor, 1x Needs improvement, 2x Very Good)
Belfast City - 65p (4x Very Good)
Inverness - 73p (4x Very Good)
Leeds Bradford - 75p (1x Poor, 2x Needs improvement, 1x Very Good)
London Luton - 78p (2x Poor, 1x Needs improvement, 1x Very Good)
Cardiff - 80p (4x Very Good)
Newcastle - 80p (1x Good, 3x Very Good)
Bristol - 90p (1x Poor, 2x Needs improvement, 1x Very Good)
Norwich - 90p (4x Very Good)
Aberdeen - 97p (4x Very Good)
East Midlands - 97p (4x Very Good)
Liverpool - 99p (4x Very Good)
Glasgow - £1.03 (4x Very Good)
Birmingham - £1.17 (2x Poor, 2x Very Good)
Exeter - £1.20 (4x Very Good)
Southampton - £1.34 (2x Good, 2x Very Good)
“Different Categories” airports
I used an average number for better readability (PRM charge per category divided by the number of categories); I'm aware that this is unlikely to be the de facto average number of each airport but it gives an idea; please scroll up to see the details of the different categories for each airport.
Edinburgh - Average 92p (4x Very Good)
London Gatwick - Average £1.91 (1x Poor, 1x Needs improvement, 2x Very Good)
Manchester - Average £2.18 (1x Poor, 1x Needs improvement, 2x Very Good)
London Heathrow - Average £3.32 (1x Poor, 3x Needs improvement)
Some interesting links
TV presenter and wheelchair user Ade Adepitan will to front a new Spanish Tourist Office campaign to promote the country’s accessibility within the travel and tourism sector.
Disability Rights Advocates (DRA) in New York and the law firm Sheppard Mullin have filed a motion against the New York City Taxi and Limousine Commission (TLC) for failing to follow through on an agreement to make at least 50% of cabs wheelchair accessible by 2020.
"It’s not being disabled that sucks, it’s living in a world that isn’t built for us" - an excellent essay on Medium by Annika Hotta.
Something to read
Wheels for Wellbeing has released a series of guidance sheets for individuals interested in active travel, as well as local authorities, NGOs and other organisations involved in decisions about walking, wheeling and cycling schemes. They have released some crucial information on the Equality Act 2010 and access to active travel routes.
Something to watch
The ad for this year's World Down Syndrome Day is going viral - mega-viral - and for all the right reasons. If you haven't seen it yet, I highly recommend it.
Some final words
Remember that diversity without inclusion is fruitless.
(Sheree Atcheson)The Accessible Link is a reader-supported publication. So, if you like what you’re reading, consider to
Who is writing this newsletter?
I’m Christiane Link, and I improve the customer experience in aviation, transport, and travel. I worked as a journalist for over two decades and travelled extensively for business and leisure. I’m a wheelchair user. If you want to read more from me, follow me on LinkedIn, Twitter, Bluesky or Mastodon. You can also reply to this email if you want to contact me.
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