Disabled access at LBA is rated as “good”

LBA was one of 16 airports to receive the rating, compared to 14 which were ranked as very good.

The CAA published the figures in its fourth annual report on the disability access of the UK’s largest airports.

In total, there were a record number of 3.7 million requests for assistance at UK airports in the latest year – a rise of more than 80 per cent since 2010.

For the first time since the accessibility framework’s introduction in 2016, no airports were classified as poor.

To achieve a very good classification, airports must provide high quality support on the day of travel as well as keeping in regular contact and consultation with their users.

The report highlights room for improvement, with research showing that nearly a quarter of disabled and less mobile passengers said they requested assistance because the airport environment was becoming more difficult to navigate.

The Civil Aviation Authority says it will work closely with airports to improve accessibility for disabled passengers.

This will be the last year that the accessibility framework will use the current criteria. Since April this year, airports have been assessed using stricter targets. Airports will need to further improve in order to retain or improve their classifications.

Paul Smith, Consumers and Markets Director at the UK Civil Aviation Authority, said:”These results show significant improvements to the experience many disabled passengers faced before our reporting began. We hope this will help passengers to feel confident and empowered to travel from UK airports.

“While it is good to see the general improvements, airports will need to continue to work hard to improve, so that they are able to meet the more demanding performance standards that we have now introduced. Where we see examples of bad practice, we will not hesitate to hold airports to account and take the necessary action.”

The report covered a 12-month period from April 1 last year to March 31 this year.