Two reports expose serious and critical barriers disabled people still face in their daily lives

Two new reports from organisations founded by disabled entrepreneurs have highlighted some of the “serious” and “critical” barriers disabled people are facing in their daily lives.

The reports were produced by accessible travel company Wheelie Good Travel Company (WGTC) and accessibility information provider AccessAble.

The WGTC report, Disabled Passenger Airport Assistance – The Need to Change, shows many disabled passengers face barriers such as inadequate staff training, inconsistent accessibility infrastructure, shortages of essential equipment, delays in receiving assistance, and safeguarding concerns.

Of 275 respondents to the WGTC survey, 97 per cent of them reported negative experiences while travelling through UK airports.

A major area of concern was in communication, with concerns about the “lack of information, inappropriate and disrespectful language and attitudes towards disabled travellers”, and poor quality information that left them “feeling stressed, anxious, disempowered, abandoned and frustrated”.

Passengers reported being left on a plane for up to three hours after arrival, with no information about the reason for the delay or how long they would have to wait.

One said: “I was left on the plane for over two hours; no-one informed us of how long the delay would be or why. I felt abandoned.”

More than half (53 per cent) of the respondents reported a lack of continuity of airport assistance by providers, ranging from “being abandoned part way through the journey of care” to a “complete breakdown of communication between different agencies”.

Nearly two-fifths (38 per cent) of respondents reported staff being rude or disrespectful to disabled passengers they were assisting, with one reporting being “treated like an inconvenience and a nuisance”.

Among problems with a lack of equipment, survey respondents reported a shortage of wheelchairs, ambulifts (used to take passengers with mobility impairments on and off flights), aisle chairs, hoists and slings.

One in 10 (10 per cent) of the respondents said they had experienced poor manual handling when being transferred between their wheelchairs and their aircraft seat.

And 13 per cent said they had experienced either damage to their wheelchair or mobility equipment or it being lost by the company responsible for baggage handling.

The survey results suggested that the best three airports for providing an acceptable level of assistance were Manchester, Heathrow and Gatwick.

But they also showed Heathrow, Manchester and Gatwick to be the three airports where disabled passengers were most likely to report an unacceptable level of assistance.

The report said this showed the inconsistency in the standard of service provided, causing “anxiety and increased stress” to disabled passengers.

One respondent said: “You never know what standard of assistance to expect and it can vary wildly at the same airport from visit to visit.

“It sometimes feels like a lottery.”

Another said: “When it is good it can be very good and when it is bad it can be very bad.”

The report makes more than 25 recommendations, across communications, equipment, manual handling, loss and damage to equipment, continuity of support through an assistance journey, and staff training.

It concludes that there are “serious issues and concerns about the way airport assistance is currently managed and operated” and “an urgent need to change the current system”.

Jon Fletcher, WGTC’s founder and chief executive and the report’s author, said travelling “should be a seamless experience for everyone”, but the findings show “there is still a long way to go”.

He called on the government, airlines, and airport operators to collaborate on producing “actionable solutions” to the concerns raised in his report.

Meanwhile, AccessAble’s survey has revealed “critical gaps in accessibility information, staff training, and venue practices, all of which contribute to an ongoing barrier to inclusion”.

More than three-quarters (77 per cent) of those who took part in the survey said they had abandoned plans to visit a venue because they could not find information on its accessibility, but almost all of them (96 per cent) said that having this information in advance would make them more likely to visit.

The survey had been open from late 2023 until the middle of this year, and it received more than 1,000 responses, with more than four-fifths (81 per cent) of respondents disabled people.

One in five (18 per cent) of those who took part rated the “disability awareness” of staff at venues as poor or extremely poor, while three-quarters (73 per cent) had had to leave a venue because it was not accessible to them.

Of those who took part in the AccessAble survey, more than half (56 per cent) said they had experienced disability discrimination when visiting a venue, while more than two-thirds (68 per cent) believed non-disabled people were not aware of the barriers that disabled people face.

Dr Gregory Burke, the disabled founder and executive chair of AccessAble, said the survey results “clearly highlight the urgent need for businesses, organisations, and venues to prioritise accessibility”.

He said: “Providing accessible services is not only a moral imperative but also a strategic advantage.

“It can lead to enhanced business outcomes by reaching a larger market, mitigating legal risks, and building stronger customer loyalty.”

Picture by Heathrow Airport

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