News

The airline industry needs to be further encouraged to follow the Department of Transport's voluntary Code of Practice Access to Air Travel for Disabled People, a new report claims.

The government has published the findings of a research project into access to air travel for disabled people, which concludes that travel and booking agency and airline staff need more training on the issue and compliance with the code.

The official report by the Transport Research Laboratory states that pre-booking assistance and provision of information in alternative formats needs to go further and be better promoted, while consistent policies are needed on the carriage of disabled people and seating allocation.

Aviation minister, Gillian Merrion, said: 'I welcome this research. We want to see improved accessibility to all types of transport and it is important that we monitor the effectiveness of this Code of Practice so that disabled people can be confident of a positive experience when they travel by air.'

The study found that some airlines and airports had not yet complied with the voluntary Code of Practice Access to Air Travel for Disabled People, issued by the DfT in 2003, with many disabled passengers complaining that airline staff lacked disability awareness and they had found booking flights difficult.

The government plans to discuss the research report with stakeholders to identify what further action needs to be taken in light of new European rules governing the rights of disabled persons and persons with reduced mobility travelling by air and the UK's Disability Discrimination Act.


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