Heathrow accused of covering up delays for disabled passengers
In a new report, the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) singled out Heathrow for failing to properly record delays that were observed by its officials.
It said that in some instances, Heathrow had failed to accurately report incidents involving disabled passengers who had to wait up to 45 minutes for help after landing.
The problems were detected at Heathrow's Terminal 3, according to the regulator, which listed the airport among the worst in Britain for accessibility.
It said: 'During our in-person monitoring at Heathrow Terminal 3, there were discrepancies between the data logged and the experiences of passengers we observed, with some passengers not being assisted on arrival in a timely manner.
'We noted that while passengers were generally disembarked from an aircraft quickly, some passengers then waited for the equipment needed to provide assistance, such as buggies or wheelchairs.'
In the worst cases, observers saw disabled customers still stuck at the gate more than three quarters of an hour after their plane had arrived, the CAA said in its annual Airport Accessibility Performance Report.
Passengers were left in the arrivals corridor for 'unacceptable periods of time without access to toilets or other facilities', it said.
The regulator added that Heathrow needed to reassess its approach to overseeing how it measured its performance at Terminal 3.
It said: 'Discrepancies were identified between waiting time data provided to the CAA and that observed through audit processes undertaken both by the CAA and the airport's own internal audits.
'Given these concerns, we cannot be assured that the waiting time standards were met at Terminal 3, and we do not consider that Heathrow is meeting the requirement for an airport to have robust processes in place for overseeing how it measures its performance.'
The accessibility report listed Heathrow as one of three UK airports requiring improvement in their treatment of the disabled.
Two Scottish hubs also fell into the bottom category, out of 28 airports that were assessed.
Edinburgh Airport was found to have failed to provide assistance to passengers in a timely manner, while Prestwick, on the Ayrshire coast 25 miles from Glasgow, was criticised for inadequate consultation with disability groups.
The CAA's eighth accessibility report rated 14 airports as 'good' and 11 as 'very good', with London Gatwick among those in the top category, having previously been assessed as requiring improvement.
Some 5.5m passengers requested assistance at UK airports last year, representing 1.9pc of the total, up from 0.9pc in 2010.
The CAA said that, despite this, the gap in satisfaction levels between disabled and non-disabled passengers had narrowed sharply, with 82pc of those with mobility issues satisfied with their most recent flight, compared with 84pc for all travellers.
Javier Echave, Heathrow's chief operating officer, said the CAA's findings were based on audits conducted late last year and that the issues had been addressed by the end of the reporting period.
He said the regulator had rated service stands for the disabled as 'very good' in Terminals 2, 4 and 5, covering the vast majority of passengers.
He added: 'We are investing in new equipment, introducing designated security lanes, and expanding support to help passengers with assistance needs travel more independently.'
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