The Department for Transport (DfT) has recently published the findings of a research project aimed at assessing how well the UK aviation industry is complying with the recommendations in the Department's voluntary Code of Practice Access to Air Travel for Disabled People.
The Department's voluntary Code of Practice, Access to Air Travel for Disabled People, was published in March 2003. The Code sets out minimum standards that should be met by airlines for aircraft design and service on board and provides tour operators, travel agents, airports, ground handling companies, retailers and other service providers with advice on how to meet their legal obligations under the Disability Discrimination Act 1995 (DDA).
The main findings of the report carried out on behalf of the DfT Research Laboratory shows that:
- the industry needs further encouragement to follow those parts of the Code that are already covered by Part 3 of the Disability Discrimination Act;
- there should be increased training for travel and booking agency and airline staff;
- procedures to increase pre-booking assistance, and provision of information in alternative formats, need to be promoted further;
- consistent policies need to be developed on the carriage of disabled people and on seating allocation; airlines and their handling agent staff should have the knowledge to assess suitable seating allocation for particular needs.
Aviation Minister Gillian Merron commented:
"I welcome this research. We want to see improved accessibility to all types of transport and it is important that we monitor the effectiveness of this Code of Practice so that disabled people can be confident of a positive experience when they travel by air.
"We now need to discuss the findings with stakeholders and consider whether further action is required, taking into account the new European rules on the rights of disabled persons and persons with reduced mobility travelling by air."
The report can be found by clicking the following link: Access to Air Travel for Disabled People: 2005 Monitoring study
