A Lanarkshire MP is appealing to disabled people to share their experiences travelling at UK airports.
Marion Fellows, the MP for Motherwell and Wishaw, was already investigating the state of special assistance in UK air travel when news broke that a passenger on a flight to Gatwick died after the airport’s disability assistance staff allegedly failed to show up.
Reports suggest that the man fell down an escalator while trying to make his own way to the terminal after special assistance staff didn’t arrive. Gatwick has denied the claims that staff shortages had anything to do with the tragedy.
Mrs Fellows, the SNP’s Disability Spokesperson for Westminster, said: “This death is shocking. It’s clear that disabled passengers are frustrated about the lack of support they receive in UK airports and airlines.
“Airports have a legal duty to ensure that no passenger is treated unfairly, let alone put in danger, due to their disabilities.
“This tragedy may be the first fatality, but we need to make sure it’s the last.
“I have spoken to a number of constituents in Motherwell and Wishaw who have raised the issue of accessibility with me and I am keen to hear more.
“As a disability champion, I want to have the fullest picture of what it is like to travel by air with a disability. This issue appears to predate Covid.
“I’m asking constituents to get in touch with me if they have experienced any delays similar to this.”
There has been a rise in the number of disabled passengers’ complaints of being left on empty jets, sometimes for hours.
The Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) recently announced that it was “very concerned” with the rise in reports of “significant service failings”.
Earlier in June, another flight from Gatwick was delayed for two hours due to a delay in assisting a disabled person off a plane.
Guidelines at many airports suggest no passenger should wait more than 30 minutes to embark or disembark.
The incident also comes just weeks after journalist Frank Gardner was left stranded on an empty plane after it arrived at London Heathrow.
The BBC security correspondent, who is a wheelchair user, said it was the fourth time this has happened to him.
Mr Gardner, 60, tweeted: “It’s happened again. Stuck on an empty plane at Heathrow airport long after everyone else is off.
“No staff to get my wheelchair off the plane - disabled passengers are once again apparently the lowest priority.”
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