London Gatwick airport gets impressive rating in annual Airport Accessibility Report
The UK Civil Aviation Authority has published its annual Airport Accessibility Report, which ranks the performance of UK airports on the assistance services they provide to disabled and less mobile passengers.
And London Gatwick has jumped from ‘needs improvement’ to a ‘very good’ ratings.
With more people travelling through our airports, and more of these people requesting assistance services than ever before, the latest report from the regulator shows that the majority of airports rated positively, but three airports need improvement.
In 2024, 5.5 million passengers requested assistance at UK airports, approximately 1.9 percent of total passengers. This has increased from 0.94 percent in 2010, 1.35 percent in 2019 and 1.69 percent in 2023 when 4.6 million passengers requested assistance.
And along with Cardiff, Gatwick joined nine over airports in the UK in the ‘very good’ category. Belfast City, East Midlands, Newcastle and Teeside: retained their ‘very good’ rating. Aberdeen, Belfast International, Bournemouth, Exeter, and London Luton: all improved on last year’s ‘Good’ rating.
Nick Williams, Head of Passenger Operations and Service, London Gatwick, said: “We are proud to have received a ‘very good’ rating in the CAA’s latest accessibility report. This is testament to the hard work and dedication of our teams at London Gatwick, alongside our assistance provider, Wilson James. We helped more than 800,000 passengers needing assistance through the airport in 2024, with plans to support even more this year.
“We are committed to providing the best possible service for all passengers travelling through London Gatwick, so will continue to work with partners and stakeholders – including the Independent Gatwick Accessibility Panel – to make the airport experience even easier.”
The CAA carried out audits of London Gatwick's Special Assistance Service in September and October 2024 and approximately 99% of arriving passengers were met by assistance agents within the required timeframe.
In 2024, London Gatwick became the UK’s first airport to receive Airports Council International’s (ACI) Level 1 Accessibility Enhancement Accreditation, recognising its commitment to accessibility services through its strategy, policies, and initiatives. They have also introduced mandatory accessibility training for all colleagues in 2025.
Selina Chadha, Group Director for Consumers and Markets at the UK Civil Aviation Authority said: “We want disabled passengers and those with limited mobility to be confident when travelling through UK airports. Our mission is to protect people and enable aerospace and we believe that entire industry should be behind the goal of making aviation accessible to all.
“It is welcome that most airports scored positively, but there is clearly more to do from those found to be needing improvement. With demand for these services rising dramatically in recent years, all airports have a huge challenge ahead to ensure they continue to offer the assistance services their passengers deserve.”
This report assesses the 28 UK airports with more than 150,000 passengers in the calendar year 2024 against a standard framework and covers performance over the year April 2024 to March 2025.
London Heathrow, Edinburgh and Glasgow Prestwick were all rated ‘needs improvement’.
The UK Civil Aviation Authority launched the Airport Accessibility Framework in 2014, clearly setting out a key set of standards for airports. This initiative has facilitated significant improvement in airport accessibility, including millions of pounds of investment in improved service and facilities in airports across the UK.