First published in August 2024, the UK Civil Aviation Authority’s 2023/2024 Airport accessibility performance report assessed the 28 UK airports that handled over 150,000 passengers in the calendar year 2023 against the quality standards framework and covers performance over the year from April 1, 2023, to March 31, 2024. Ratings for the 28 airports break down into the following categories: 11 airports fell into the ‘very good’ category; 12 airports ranked in the ‘good’ category; and five airports were rated as ‘needs improvement’. None ranked as ‘poor’.
For the first time, this year’s report also includes a deep-dive accessibility assessment of airports undertaken throughout the reporting year. This year, London Heathrow, London Stansted and London Luton were assessed in greater depth, and this new aspect of the report will continue in future years. This included performance against waiting time targets, surveys of service users and consultation with disability groups. James Fremantle, senior manager of consumer policy and enforcement at the UK Civil Aviation Authority, speaks to Passenger Terminal Today to explore the current and future accessibility landscape of the UK airport industry.
How does the CAA monitor and evaluate the accessibility performance of airports?
We publish an annual Airport Accessibility Framework report, ranking every airport in the UK – with an annual passenger volume of more than 150,000 – on their accommodation and treatment of passengers with reduced mobility and disabilities.
We are the only aviation regulator to do this and in the last decade our Airport Accessibility Framework has helped drive improvements at airports across the UK.
We launched the Airport Accessibility Framework in 2014, clearly setting out a key set of standards for airports. The framework details how we expect all passengers with disabilities and reduced mobility to be treated and we publish and promote accessibility results annually in order to hold the aviation industry to account.
Specifically, airports are assessed against the quality standards framework in three key areas: performance against waiting time targets for arriving and departing passengers – this includes accurately and robustness of data collection; surveys of users of the assistance service; and consultation with disability groups and organizations through the setting up and regular convening of ‘Access Forums’ of disabled organizations and disabled individuals. Airports are rated ‘Very Good’, ‘Good’, ‘Needs Improvement’ or ‘Poor’ depending on our assessment of their performance.
We also publish ‘deep dive’ surveys which take a more detailed look at the accessibility services offered by individual airports. This summer we published ‘deep dive’ reports looking at Heathrow, Luton and Stansted airports and have already seen changes and improvements based on our observations.
What specific measures have been implemented to improve airport accessibility since the pandemic?
Millions of pounds have been invested in improved service and facilities and we have seen significant improvements at a number of airports including increased staff numbers and better training for employees involved in providing accessibility services.
To give one example, the UK’s biggest airport, London Heathrow, has added significant numbers of staff to their operation which has improved the timeliness of the service.
Heathrow’s Terminal 3 also has more infrastructure challenges than the airport’s other terminals, including level changes that require arriving disabled and less mobile passengers to move between pieces of equipment, as well as an increase in leisure routes since pre-pandemic years. Leisure routes (including visiting friends and relatives) tend to have a higher proportion of passengers requesting assistance compared to business destinations.
This is why we are pleased that London Heathrow has invested in new lifts on the arrivals journey in Terminal 3, in both the arrivals corridors and between the border and baggage reclaim, and has trialled new equipment and processes to try to improve performance.
Even changes as small as improving signage directing passengers to key points where assistance will be provided at London Stansted recently, or London Heathrow and London Luton allowing free drop-off for disabled people with UK registration (blue badges), can improve the experience of passengers who require special assistance.
London Luton Airport has also collaborated with members of the London Luton Airport Accessibility Forum to create a new disability awareness training e-learning course for customer-facing airport staff. The course covers a range of accessibility topics and includes videos of forum members talking about their experiences of flying with a disability or medical condition.
What challenges do airports face in maintaining and improving accessibility standards as passenger demand increases?
As passenger numbers increase post-pandemic, we are seeing an increasing demand for the assistance service at UK airports. We believe that maintaining and raising standards in the face of these increasing numbers will be a challenge for airport management in the future.
Data that we collect shows that across UK airports 1.69% of passengers seek support from staff in airports in order to help them travel. This has increased from 0.94% in 2010 and 1.35% in 2019.
For some airports, over 2% of passengers requested assistance in 2023. In real passenger numbers, this equated to 4.45 million requests for assistance either departing, arriving or connecting at a UK airport during the reporting year. This is an increase of 21% on the 3.68 million passengers who requested this assistance in the 2022/23 reporting year.
One of the reasons behind this could be an increase in disabled people within the population, primarily driven by an aging 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). Almost a quarter (24%) of people in the UK are now classified as disabled, compared to 19% in 2012/13.
We also believe that passengers may be more inclined to request assistance than they were pre-pandemic, possibly as a result of a greater awareness of the assistance services provided by airports. Results from the latest CAA Aviation Consumer Survey found that three in 10 people identifying as having a disability are more likely to request assistance than they were pre-pandemic.
We believe aviation should be accessible to all and are calling on the industry to respond to increased demand by redoubling its efforts to maintain and improve standards. However, we are supporting airport efforts to better manage the demand through providing a better service for passengers – for example, by providing more facilities so that passengers can be assisted by friends and families, such as more wheelchairs being available to use throughout airports; and by easing pinch points such as security, through the provision of separate lanes for disabled passengers, so that they are able to navigate through these areas without requesting assistance from staff members. In 2016, the CAA was the first aviation authority to provide guidance for airports and airlines on providing assistance to people with invisible disabilities.
What plans or initiatives are in place to further enhance accessibility at UK airports?
We will continue to publish and promote our annual airport accessibility report and ‘deep dive’ surveys of individual airports. We will also continue to work closely with all airports, more particularly the five that were rated as ‘needs improvement’ in our last report – London Gatwick, Liverpool, Norwich, Bristol and Cardiff. We also now have a representative that has attended ‘Airport Access Forum’ meetings of the top 16 airports most used by passengers to observe and enable greater understanding of the accessibility services offered by these airports.
In addition, we have also published a new accessibility guidance for airlines. This provides extensive guidance for airlines on accessibility requirements and sets a framework for annual assessments of airlines, increasing transparency and accountability for airlines and airports. We will support airports and facilitate improvements in accessibility by continuing as appropriate to convene regular working groups of airport management teams and disability stakeholder groups to share best practice.
For more of the top insights into the future of accessible airports, read Passenger Terminal World’s exclusive feature “Ensuring equitable access for all passengers”, here.
