Liverpool John Lennon Airport (LJLA) is one of the best big airports in the UK for supporting disabled people, according to a new report.
The UK's Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) criticised "an unacceptable level of service to disabled people and passengers with reduced mobility" at airports in its interim airport accessibility report, released on Tuesday, December 13. But the report, which assessed the performance of 16 of the country's largest airports, singled out LJLA and East Midlands airports for praise.
It was "particularly impressed" by the two airports' efforts "to enhance the customer service aspect of their assistance services, despite the challenges of the summer." Urging other airports to follow their example, the report said: "We noted how Liverpool has implemented a new process which allows assistance passengers to request support for only the parts of the passenger journey they need, for example boarding aircraft."
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Paul Staples, operations director for LJLA, told the ECHO: "We're naturally delighted with the recognition given to the Airport in the latest results shown in this report highlighting how well we look after passengers, whether able bodied, or those with physical and hidden disabilities.
"Airport staff and those employed by ABM who provide passenger assistance here at Liverpool, have worked in partnership with a host of organisations and disability charities for some time, to better understand the needs of passengers with a diverse range of disabilities so that we can provide the best level of service and ease their journey though the airport and to encourage more passengers with disabilities to choose to fly from Liverpool."
Liverpool Airport was ranked 'very good' for the two quarters between April and September, and 'good' in October. For an airport to be 'very good', 99% of all departing disabled or less mobile passengers must be provided with assistance within 30 minutes of making themselves known at a designated point if they're pre-notified, or within 45 minutes if they're non-notified.
For arrivals, the standard is 98% within 20 minutes for pre-notified disabled and less mobile passengers, and 45 minutes for non-notified ones. Despite the high standards and efforts to improve accessibility, Liverpool didn't quite secure the top spot. Six airports, including the East Midlands, were ranked 'very good' in each period, but some fared worse in the CAA's report.
Most airports ranked 'poor' or 'needs improvement' early in the period covered by the report, like Birmingham, Manchester and London Stansted, improved over time. But London Luton was singled out as showing no signs of improvement in terms of accessibility. The CAA described the lack progress in meeting standards, despite the level of passengers with disabilities and limited mobility remaining roughly the same as in 2019, as "disappointing".
Paul Smith, the CAA's director of consumers, said: "The aviation industry has faced unprecedented challenges, but too many passengers at UK airports have been waiting for unacceptable amounts of time for assistance on arriving flights on too many occasions.
"We strongly believe that everyone should have access to air travel, and we welcome the substantial improvements that airports have made for disabled and less mobile passengers. We will continue to consider whether we need to take further action where airports are not delivering an acceptable level of performance, and not showing sufficient and sustained improvements. We want to see immediate further improvements, as well as airports being well prepared to provide a high-quality service during next year."
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