The aviation industry has made slow but steady progress in introducing suggested improvements to the accessibility of air travel for disabled people in the UK over the last year, according to a new report.
The progress was outlined by a group set up to develop and implement recommendations made last year by the Aviation Accessibility Task and Finish Group (AATFG).
AATFG was set up by the Department for Transport (DfT) and chaired by disabled crossbench peer Baroness [Tanni] Grey-Thompson.
The Aviation Accessibility Implementation Group, also set up by DfT, says in the new report that there has been a “significant amount of work” on implementing the recommendations made by the peer’s group, with “positive steps already delivered or set up for delivery in a number of areas”.
It says it hopes to see “real life improvements in the quality of the journey experience for disabled people” in the next year.
Most of the members of the implementation group are representatives of the aviation industry, although it includes several disabled accessible transport campaigners and experts.
The report says progress has been made across key areas in the last year.
This includes providing stronger accessibility training, designed with disabled passengers, while the group has identified areas where information on airport assistance could be improved.
It is also set to trial a new digital platform that could share disabled passengers’ access needs with booking agents, airlines and airport staff before they travel.
In March, a standardised form was introduced that allows disabled passengers to share wheelchair battery and handling information before they travel.
The implementation group has also supported a new panel of representatives from the aviation sector and mobility aid manufacturers which will encourage “better preparation, clearer information sharing and more consistent handling” for passengers travelling with powered mobility aids, particularly those with lithium batteries.
The government says more than 1,000 wheelchairs were damaged in transit in 2023, 0.43 per cent of the wheelchairs carried by air.
The implementation group has also begun developing a tool that the industry could use to address the “barriers and challenges that passengers with non-visible impairments might face at each stage of the journey”.
The group concludes in the report: “Progress may seem slow in some areas but given the large number of stakeholders and the complexity of the aviation world, we are pleased with the positive steps already delivered or set up for delivery in a number of areas.”
The implementation group’s co-chairs, former DfT civil servant Ann Frye, the government’s access ambassador for aviation, and Steve Wilson, a disabled access expert with Jet2, said: “Our work over the past year has been led jointly by industry – from across the aviation sector – and by the expertise of accessibility professionals.
“This report is by no means the end of the story – there is much more to be done – but we have made a positive start.
“We will be focussing now on embedding more of the changes that are needed to enable disabled people to fly with confidence and dignity.”
Transport secretary Heidi Alexander said: “We’ve backed industry to overhaul staff training, prevent damage to mobility aids and create easy, simple ways for passengers to share key information before they fly, so they can travel with greater confidence.”
The group’s work on voluntary improvements by the industry continues in parallel with government changes to the law through the civil aviation (consumer protection and regulatory reform) bill, which has passed through the Lords and has reached the Commons committee stage.
One key measure in the bill will remove the cap on compensation for mobility aids and wheelchairs that are damaged or lost on domestic UK flights.
The bill will also introduce direct enforcement of consumer protection legislation by the UK Civil Aviation Authority, which should allow earlier and more effective intervention when airlines or airports breach consumer law, including on accessibility.
The government will launch a consultation on a series of accessibility reforms within 12 months of the bill receiving royal assent.
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