Airlines could soon be graded on how kindly they treat disabled plane passengers

26 April 2023 , 11:03

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The proposals would rank airlines on how they treat disabled passengers (Image: Getty Images)

Airlines would be named and shamed under new reforms designed to help disabled passengers have smoother flights.

The UK Civil Aviation Authority wants to rank the performance of airlines based on their overall services for disabled and less mobile passengers.

Everything from the booking process, the assistance they offer at airports, boarding, the flight experience and post-flight treatment would be scrutinised.

The aviation firms would also be marked on how good their seats and toilets are onboard, as well as how easy boarding and disembarking is.

All airlines that fly to or out of UK airports would be included.

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The airlines would be graded on all aspects such as the boarding and in-flight experiences (Getty Images/iStockphoto)

Guidance would also be issued on how airlines should handle mobility equipment and providing compensation when it is lost or damaged.

This follows a series of high profile incidents over the past year in which wheelchairs were lost or damaged by airline staff, while some passengers were left stranded on flights due to staffing issues at airports. 

A similar assessment of UK airports was introduced in 2014 and has been credited with driving millions of pounds of investment in improving experiences for passengers with reduced mobility.

Anna Bowles, head of consumer at the UK Civil Aviation Authority, said: "Our proposals to introduce this new framework are about holding airlines to account in meeting their obligations to disabled and less mobile passengers across all aspects of their journey.

"Consumers should have confidence that the standard of support they receive when flying will meet their needs.

"Assessing airlines against a standardised framework will ensure that disabled and less mobile passengers will be better informed when they choose which airline to fly with, and will highlight areas where airlines need to do better."

Sophie Morgan is campaigning for change (Ken McKay/ITV/REX/Shutterstock)

A consultation into the proposals is running until July 21.

The CAA is seeking further feedback from disability rights groups, individuals, and the aviation industry.

Earlier this year Loose Women star Sophie Morgan launched a campaign fighting for better travel rights for disabled people.

The presenter and disability advocate, 37, said she "landed at Heathrow with a bang" after finding her chair had been damaged last year.

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"It's incredibly distressing because it's your legs," the Loose Women panellist told The Mirror. "If the headlines read 'airlines break thousands of passengers legs every year' can you imagine the outcry?"

Sophie is now asking the government in a letter to the Prime Minister to give the Civil Aviation Authority more power to enforce fines so that there are consequences for when airlines either do damage to wheelchairs, leave disabled people on board for too long or don't provide the right assistance.

"Any civil rights movement, any human rights movement is about being asked to be considered a human being the same as anyone else to ask for equity to get to equality," she explained.

Sophie says she's appealing to the "humanity" of the airlines in her new campaign.

Milo Boyd