DISABILITY: ACCESS TO AVIATION

EU Regulation 1107/2006 regarding Persons with Reduced Mobility (PRMs) was officially adopted and published in the Official Journal on 26 July 2006. Responsibility for handling PRMs lies with airports which have a right to recharge airlines by levying a charge on all passengers using that airport. Airlines will pay according to their own total passenger numbers. The Regulation provides for a consistent approach to be adopted at all airports with no right of opt out by individual airlines. It came into force in two stages – the rules relating to refusal to accept a reservation on 26 July 2007, and full implementation on 26 July 2008. The Regulation is directly applicable in all EU Member States and the European Commission will be monitoring progress to ensure that the regulation is correctly implemented.

The Civil Aviation Authority is consulting on the Regulation, one year on from full implementation. It will be providing input to the Government and European Commission on the implementation of the Regulation, issues identified and how these might be addressed.

Joint Aviation Requirements in Commercial Air Transportation (JAR-OPS)

These operational rules for airlines are aimed at providing a consistent approach to the way health and safety issues are dealt with in airline operating manuals. There is concern at the growing number of complaints about the refusal of airlines or pilots to carry disabled people on the often spurious grounds of safety risks. The European Civil Aviation Conference (ECAC) has been working on guidance material aimed at explaining the differences between safety risks from different types of disability, and establishing appropriate ratios of PRMs to staff and seating positions. The Commission is supporting this work as a means of ensuring compliance with the PRM Regulation.

UK Air Access Code

The UK’s voluntary Air Access Code was first published in 2003 and is designed to improve access to air travel for disabled people setting out the steps that agents, operators, airports and airlines should take to make their services more accessible. Following a detailed two-year review of the Code, the revised Code was published in July 2008. The Disabled Persons Transport Advisory Committee (DPTAC) has recommended that the current exemption from the Disability Discrimination Act (DDA) which aviation enjoys should be removed and aviation be brought within the scope of the Act. The current position of the UK Government is that this exemption will be reviewed in the future and the outcome will depend on the success of the Code and of EU Regulation 1107/2006.

The Department for Transport (DfT) in turn liaises with the EU through ECAC and the US Department for Transport (DOT) on their own versions.

ABTA's Position

ABTA has supported the proposal that all passengers should share the costs of handling PRMs, rather than the costs being borne by the airlines carrying those passengers or by the PRMs themselves. ABTA represents ECTAA on the ECAC PRM group and has been involved in negotiations with the Commission. Through ECAC, discussions are under way with the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) over practical implementation of the JAR-OPS rules.

We are also in discussion with the DfT over the proposed enforcement and penalties regime for the UK. Each Member State is left to implement its own regime and we are keen to ensure a level of harmonisation. The national enforcement body in charge of enforcing this Regulation in the UK is the Civil Aviation Authority. Complaints are dealt with by the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC). In Northern Ireland, complaints are dealt with by the Consumer Council for Northern Ireland (CCNI).

ABTA is represented on DPTAC and also on the DfT drafting group for the revised Code. ABTA takes the view that the exemption for aviation under the Disability Discrimination Act should not be lifted. We can help Members improve services for disabled customers through information and guidance. ABTA’s view on the DPTAC recommendation is that the problems highlighted in the DfT review signal lapses in services already covered by the DDA (such as those provided by travel agents, operators booking and UK services, and at airports) rather than problems with the aircraft and transport services themselves, so lifting the exemption is not necessary, particularly bearing in mind the new EU Regulation on PRMs which came fully into force in July 2008. ABTA’s own Checklist for Disabled and Less Mobile Passengers is an annex to the DfT Air Access Code.

ABTA hosts a PRM group involving inter alia charter and scheduled airlines, airports, the CAA, DfT and EHRC. This group is reviewing experience to date of the Regulation and working together to ensure that the trade adopts a consistent approach. Guidance has been issued as a means of raising awareness among Members and avoiding potential complaints and claims from disabled passengers. The ECAC guidelines have been developed into a practical guidance note on how to provide good service to customers with disabilities.

ABTA has responded to the CAA’s consultation highlighting the need for a consumer awareness campaign to ensure that the person making the booking notifies if they or anyone else travelling in their party needs assistance at airports.

Last updated: 30 July 2009