Leeds Bradford Airport has apologised for "falling short" after a new report found that the airport is not providing a good enough service to those with disabilities or reduced mobility. The report, done by the UK Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) has called out a number of airports due to "unacceptable" standards.
Following action taken by the UK Civil Aviation Authority, a number of airports were found to have provided an unacceptable level of service to disabled people and passengers with reduced mobility. This was recorded over a seven-month period between April 1 and October 31, 2022.
For five years, Leeds Bradford was found to have 'good' standards by the CAA and they say they are working towards regaining this level of care and committment.
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The aviation regulator's Interim Airport Accessibility Report, which assesses 16 of the largest UK airports, details those airports that have succeeded in making improvements, as well as those that need to put in place further improvements to ensure that in 2023 disabled people and people with reduced mobility receive the standard of service to which they are entitled.
The UK Civil Aviation Authority required several airports to put in place action plans, together with airlines, which saw marked improvements in performance.
A total of eight airports were ranked as 'poor' in early months of the reporting period as too many disabled passengers and passengers with reduced mobility were waiting for unacceptably long periods for assistance on arrival. However, following significant progress, Birmingham, London Gatwick, London Stansted and Manchester were rated as either 'good' or 'very good' by the end of the reporting period.
Bristol, Leeds Bradford and London Heathrow are still deemed as needing improvement at the time of publication, as passengers have not seen sufficient improvements in the provision of service.
Leeds Bradford Airport has since said sorry and accepted the findings within the report. A spokesperson for LBA said: "We accept the report from the CAA and apologise for falling short during this challenging period. We feel confident that our programme of live investments will improve services for passengers with restricted mobility.
"Our reconfiguration of Hall A, investment in infrastructure and extensive training of new staff will see immediate positive changes at LBA in the coming weeks and months. Prior to this report, LBA has been rated “good” by the CAA for five years and we are committed to regaining this status as quickly as possible by implementing tangible solutions around the terminal.”
Paul Smith, Director of Consumers at the UK Civil Aviation Authority, 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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