Hooray, We Have More Disabled Passengers!
The CAA released its annual Airport Accessibility report
You can listen to the main article in this newsletter (read by me).
Hello everyone,
Hooray, we have more disabled passengers! That was NOT the headline of the annual Airport Accessibility performance report the UK Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) released this week, but it could have been. With an increase of 21% in assistance requests at UK airports, it's clear that older and disabled people are a growing customer group.
The report provides insights into the service level quality for disabled passengers and so-called "Passengers with reduced mobility" across UK airports. Implemented in 2014, the CAA's Airport Accessibility Framework establishes standards for airports serving this growing customer group.
During the reporting year, 4.45 million passengers requested assistance departing, arriving, or connecting at a UK airport. This is an increase of 21% from the 3.68 million passengers who requested this assistance in the 2022/23 reporting year.
The CAA mentions factors for the increase in assistance requests, like the increase of disabled people, primarily driven by an ageing population. The Department for Work and Pensions reported that the number of disabled people in the UK increased by 32% (3.9 million between financial years 2012/13 and 2022/23). 24% of people in the UK are now disabled, compared to 19% in 2012/13.
The CAA also believes that passengers may be more inclined to request assistance than before the pandemic, possibly due to a greater awareness of the assistance services provided. Results from the CAA's Aviation Consumer Survey 2023 found that three in ten people identifying as disabled are more likely to request assistance than before the pandemic.
And that's good news! The alternative would be fewer passengers. In an ageing society with more disabled people, passengers either get the assistance and infrastructure they need or stay away, which has economic and social implications. And they won't get replaced by anyone else. So, the fact that people are still travelling when they're older or disabled is excellent news.
No "poor" airports anymore
The 2023/2024 report categorises airports into three ratings: 'very good', 'good', and 'needs improvement'. For the first time since 2020, no UK airport received a 'poor' rating.
The ratings are as follows:
Very Good
11 airports, including Belfast City, City of Derry, Cornwall Newquay, East Midlands, Glasgow Prestwick, Leeds Bradford, London Stansted, Newcastle, Teesside, Glasgow, and Southampton.
Good
12 airports, including Aberdeen, Belfast International, Birmingham, Bournemouth, Edinburgh, Exeter, Inverness, London City, London Luton, Manchester, Sumburgh, and London Heathrow.
Needs Improvement
5 airports, including Bristol, London Gatwick, Cardiff Wales, Liverpool, and Norwich.
According to the report, London Heathrow improved from 'needs improvement' to 'good' due to increased staffing in accessibility support services.
Training quality is still an issue
The CAA also conducted a "deep dive" of three airports and published their airport assessment reports. They checked their assessments against the quality standards framework. The reports of Heathrow, London Luton, and London Stansted are quite interesting.
Here is part of the text about the training provision at Heathrow:
"(...) The airport did not provide full details of training content provided by Wilson James, despite several requests. CAA staff therefore requested information directly from Wilson James. In addition, during discussions London Heathrow staff did not appear to have sufficient knowledge of the training. Although the assistance service is contracted to Wilson James it is important that the airport has processes in place to ensure full oversight of its legal obligations as directed through Wilson James. It is not clear that robust processes are in place to ensure training obligations are met. Also, Wilson James training staff, despite having relevant technical teaching qualifications, do not have sufficient involvement with disabled individuals or disability organisations in the creation of content for training packages and for delivering the training. There is also insufficient content on physical disabilities.
We have concerns that there is not sufficient content in the disability equality training. In addition, there is not sufficient involvement with disabled individuals or disability organisations in the creation of content for training packages and for delivering the training.
The "good" rating for Heathrow seems a bit surprising, considering these comments in the assessment. Training is an essential part of airport assistance provision and is often the core issue for complaints. There are very engaging disabled trainers available who champion the social model of disability. It's puzzling that not more airports use them.
New Airline framework
In addition to its yearly airport report, the CAA has published a new airline accessibility framework to complement the existing airport framework. This new framework will provide guidance and drive improvements in airline accessibility. Therefore, airlines will be assessed against this new framework in the future, and disabled people can make an informed decision about who they fly with.
The CAA needs more power
So, while I find the frameworks useful (disclosure: I sit in the CAA's advisory group and was involved in their developments), I believe the CAA needs actual legal enforcement powers.
The new Transport Secretary, Louise Haigh, emphasised the need for further improvements, stating, "Everyone has the right to travel with dignity, and it is clear that more needs to be done to make accessible and enjoyable flying a reality for everyone."
I couldn't agree more, but to support that, the CAA needs to get proper powers to regulate airports that repeatedly fail the assessments. That becomes even more important with the increasing number of disabled passengers.
I would be happy if you could recommend the newsletter to colleagues and friends!
Have a great week!
Christiane Link
Some interesting links
Next time someone tells you accessibility in rail and public transport is really expensive and difficult to achieve due to costs, remember that Network Rail didn’t spend £65 million put aside to improve access at stations. Another excellent deep dive shows that of the 27 stations awarded funding in 2014, only 9 have been completed, with a further 8 due to be completed within the next six months and 10 stations either have no estimate of the completion date, a completion date of mid-2025 or beyond and in some cases it has been impossible to get any reliable information.
At the end of July, I gave up my car. My Motability contract ended, and I couldn’t find a suitable, non-electric car that would meet my needs and there was no way I could charge an electric vehicle in my neighbourhood. On top of that, Motability rejected my request to buy my own adapted car (that’s a story on its own). I know there is a massive issue with the accessibility of car chargers in the whole country. Many are too high, or the pavement kerb prevents reaching them from a wheelchair. Research shows this is not just my impression. Only 2.3% of UK chargers are accessible for disabled motorists.
London’s Mayor, Sadiq Khan, has set the goal to make 50% of the city’s tube stations accessible by 2030. I’m a big fan of accessibility goals (because nothing happens without them). The next goal I want to see is 100% by 2050.
Something to listen to
Exploring the concept of free public transport in various cities around the world, including Luxembourg, where it’s national; Delhi, where it benefits women in the workforce; and Kansas City, which faces financial challenges. The podcast delves into the impacts on commuters, social inequality, taxi industry struggles, well-being, safety, and the debate on the financial sustainability of free transport schemes.
Some final words
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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.
Work with me
Whether you're a Customer service director, a Head of Customer Experience, a corporate Accessibility manager, a DEI leader, a transport planner, or a disabled employee resource group member, I can help you to make your organisation more inclusive. You can book me for speaking engagements or hire me as a consultant for your accessibility or DEI strategy, communications advice and other related matters. I have worked for airlines, airports, train operators, public transport providers, and companies in other sectors.
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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