Airport fined after pensioner dies following fall from lift
The 81-year-old had just landed at the airport after holidaying on the Greek island of Rhodes with his wife Anne, when the incident happened on November 28, 2023.
Mr Young and his wife, who has mobility issues, had been waiting for one of the airport's ambulifts to assist them disembarking the aircraft shortly after 4pm. The couple had been two of six people requiring the assistance of the ambulift following the flight.
Ambulifts are a specially designed vehicle to assist passengers with reduced mobility. Edinburgh Airport has several such vehicles which are owned, maintained and operated by the airport and driven by its employees.
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Mr Young attempted to pass a piece of hand luggage to a worker on the ground whilst the tail lift had not yet been lowered. It is believed he leant against the safety rail, which swung open causing him to fall approximately five feet to the ground below.
He was assisted to his feet and helped into a wheelchair and although he wasn't thought to have sustained serious injury at time, he was taken to hospital. When examined at Edinburgh Royal Infirmary, it was found Mr Young had sustained serious injuries and he subsequently died on December 7 as a result of the injuries.
As a result of the incident, Edinburgh Airport Limited submitted a RIDDOR to the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) and an investigation was carried out. That found that when it was raised from the ground, the locking mechanism on the tail lift's safety rail was misaligned, meaning it could potentially open outwards if pressure was applied to it. When the safety rail moved outwards from the lifting platform an open edge was created and it was through this that Mr Young fell.
Edinburgh Airport Limited pleaded guilty to breaching Regulation 5(1) of the Provision and Use of Work Equipment Regulations 1998 and Section 33(1)(c) of the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974. The company was fined £80k at Edinburgh Sheriff Court on June 10, 2025.
HSE inspector Jurate Gruzaite, said: 'Edinburgh Airport Limited had a duty to ensure all of its work equipment was maintained in an efficient state and in working order. The company failed in this duty and had a role in a family tragedy that unfolded the moment Mr and Mrs Young returned from holiday.
'It is clear that the fault on the ambulift had been in place before Mr Young fell from the platform.
'We can only hope this tragic incident is one the industry can learn from.'
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