a day ago
Heathrow ‘needs improvement' in how disabled flyers are treated, regulator says
Heathrow 'needs improvement' in how it assists passengers with disabilities or reduced mobility, a regulator has found.
The Civil Aviation Authority (CAA), which conducted the assessment, also gave the same rating to Edinburgh and Glasgow Prestwick airports.
It said the three airports have 'clearly more to do' in their provision of additional support.
Fourteen UK airports were rated as 'good' and 11 as 'very good'.
None were rated 'poor'.
CAA group director for consumers and markets Selina Chadha said disabled passengers and those with limited mobility should be able to be 'confident when travelling through UK airports'.
She continued: 'Our mission is to protect people and enable aerospace, and we believe the entire industry should be behind the goal of making aviation accessible to all.
'It is welcome that most airports scored positively, but there is clearly more to do from those found to be needing improvement.
'With demand for these services rising dramatically in recent years, all airports have a huge challenge ahead to ensure they continue to offer the assistance services their passengers deserve.'
Heathrow, the UK's busiest airport, was found to have 'discrepancies' between its data on waiting times to provide assistance at Terminal 3, and what was observed happening, the CAA's report stated.
The regulator added: '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 report is based on the year to the end of March.
Heathrow's chief operating officer Javier Echave said the airport made 'significant strides in enhancing our assistance service' since the previous 12-month period.
He went on: 'I want to reassure passengers that Heathrow has a strong plan in place.
'We are investing in new equipment, introducing designated security lanes, and expanding support to help passengers with assistance needs travel more independently.
'This 'needs improvement' rating provided by the CAA focuses on the administration of data recording in Terminal 3, based on audits which it conducted in late 2024, which we had addressed by the end of the reporting period.
'Apart from this specific matter, Heathrow has delivered demonstrable progress across all key service metrics.'
