The quality of assistance airports provide to disabled people and those with reduced mobility is the focus of a new performance report by the UK Civil Aviation Authority.
Under European regulations, airports and airlines must provide help and support to disabled passengers and those with reduced mobility, to better enable this group of people to travel by air.
During 2015/2016 the CAA established a new performance framework and worked with 30 of the busiest UK airports to assess each of them against a number of key measures.
These measures included:
- How long passengers have to wait for assistance (both departure and arrival)
- The levels of passenger satisfaction with the assistance provided, gathered from CAA passenger surveys and airports’ own surveys
- How much consultation airports had with disability organisations regarding assistance services, what consultation methods were used, if issues were addressed and what, if any, action was taken
All 30 airports have now been assessed and given a performance rating of either very good, good, taking steps, or poor. Cornwall Airport Newquay has been rated as very good.
Table of Airport Performance
| Very Good | Good | Taking Steps | Poor |
|---|---|---|---|
| Belfast International | Birmingham | Aberdeen | Edinburgh |
| Belfast City | Bristol | Bournemouth | |
| City of Derry | East Midlands | Cardiff | |
| Humberside | Glasgow | Exeter | |
| London Southend | Liverpool | Doncaster Sheffield | |
| Manchester | London Gatwick | Glasgow Prestwick | |
| Newcastle | London Stansted | Inverness | |
| Newquay Cornwall | Leeds Bradford | ||
| Norwich | London City | ||
| Southampton | London Heathrow | ||
| London Luton | |||
| Sumburgh |
Note: The CAA’s full report “Accessible air travel: Airport performance report 2015/16” provides a full explanation of how each ranking is defined.
Richard Thomasson, Operations Manager at Cornwall Airport Newquay, commented: “As the UK’s fastest growing Airport we take pride in delivering the best possible customer experience to all of our passengers and we’re delighted that the service we offer to passengers with reduced mobility has been recognised in this way.”
“We are passionate that air travel to and from Cornwall should be accessible to everyone and work hard to achieve this, so it is rewarding for this to be recognised by the CAA.”
The organisation “DisAbility Cornwall” who have been working with the Airport, added: “DisAbility Cornwall & isles of Scilly is delighted Cornwall Airport Newquay has been rated so highly for the service they offer to disabled passengers, although we are not particularly surprised. The Airport has positively engaged with our organisation to conduct audits and consultations with our members, who were impressed with the level of support offered to passengers requiring assistance.”