The report, which ranks the performance of UK airports in assisting disabled and mobility impaired passengers, was released today. The majority of airports were rated as either ‘Good’ or ‘Very Good’, but three airports were found to need improvement.
11 Airports Rated ‘Very Good’
The report assesses all 28 UK airports with more than 150,000 passengers, against a framework which covers three areas: Performance against waiting time targets, a Satisfaction Survey and consultations with disabled individuals and organisations.
The following airports received a ‘Very Good’ rating in the 24/25 report:
- Belfast City
- East Midlands
- Newcastle
- Teeside
- Aberdeen
- Belfast International
- Bournemouth
- Exeter
- London Luton
- Cardiff
- London Gatwick
14 airports were rated ‘Good’ in the report, making up the majority of those ranked:
- Bristol
- Liverpool
- Norwich
- Birmingham
- Inverness
- London City
- Manchester
- City of Derry
- Cornwall Newquay
- Glasgow
- Leeds Bradford
- London Stansted
- London Southend
- Southampton
Whilst no airport was rated as ‘Poor’, the following airports were evaluated as ‘Needs Improvement’:
- London Heathrow
- Edinburgh
- Glasgow Prestwick
More Requests for Assistance Received in 2024 than Ever Before
The Civil Aviation Authority’s (CAA) report comes at a time when more requests for assistance have been received than ever before.
In 2024, 5.5 million people requested assistance at UK airports, making up 1.9% of the total number of passengers.
Speaking about the report, Selina Chadha, Group Director for Consumers and Markets at the UK Civil Aviation Authority said:
We want disabled passengers and those with limited mobility to be confident when travelling through UK airports. Our mission is to protect people and enable aerospace and we believe that 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.”
The CAA launched the Airport Accessibility Framework in 2014 and it has been lauded as a driving force in improving airport accessibility. The five airports which received a ‘Needs Improvement’ rating in the previous years’ report, are now rated as either ‘Good’ or ‘Very Good’.
