London Gatwick rated as needing improvement in annual airport accessibility report - see airport's response

The CAA launched the Airport Accessibility Framework in 2014, clearly setting out a key set of standards for airports. The framework details how the regulator expects all passengers with disabilities and reduced mobility to be treated and commits to posting accessibility results annually in order to hold the aviation industry to account.

And in the latest report, Gatwick airport was one of only five airports rated as needing improvement along with Bristol, Cardiff, Liverpool and Norwich. Belfast City, City of Derry, Cornwall Newquay, East Midlands, Glasgow Prestwick, Leeds Bradford, London Stansted, Newcastle, Teesside and Glasgow all achieved a ‘very good’ rating.

A CAA spokesperson said: “Whilst the airport met the requirements across a range of criteria, monitoring and oversight activity conducted by the CAA has shown issues with the data reported to us by the airport, in particular that it did not accurately reflect the service being provided to arriving passengers.

"It also found that, while passengers were generally disembarked from an aircraft quickly, the equipment needed to provide the assistance for the full passenger journey was not always waiting for the passenger after they had been disembarked, with some arriving passengers being left for unacceptable periods of time in corridors, sometimes without access to seating and toilets. Despite commitments made by London Gatwick in May 2023 that these issues would be rectified, CAA monitoring of the service during September and October 2023 identified similar issues. We are pleased to note that in the early months of the 2024/25 reporting year the issues appear to have been mainly addressed and we have noted more recent improvements in performance.

"The CAA will continue to monitor the service and robustness of the data provided to us by London Gatwick in the coming months to ensure that the issues identified remain fully rectified.”

The CAA carried out audits of London Gatwick's Special Assistance Service in September and October 2023 and CAA observations are based on a sample size of 0.3% of Special Assistance Passengers.

A London Gatwick spokesperson said: “We are proud to have helped more than 650,000 passengers needing assistance through our airport in 2023, with plans to support even more this year in partnership with our provider, Wilson James.

“We work hard to ensure we comply with all the requirements to meet the “very good” standard and are disappointed to have been rated “needs improvement” due to some enhancements needed to

our data capture processes which have now been completed.

“Working closely with the CAA and our service provider, we are confident we have made the necessary changes to improve our rating for 2024 to better reflect the quality of the service that

we deliver.”

London Gatwick have also partnered with AccessAble to create detailed access guides for passengers and create an action plan for how the airport can improve the accessibility of its facilities and has also concluded a trial with RNIB and WeWALK on a sighted guide app for passengers.

In its first decade the initiative has facilitated significant improvement in airport accessibility, including millions of pounds of investment in improved service and facilities. This year, the report was written against a backdrop of significant increase in demand as passengers indicated a drop in satisfaction with airport performance.

For the first time, this year’s report also includes a deep dive accessibility assessment of airports undertaken throughout the reporting year. This year, London Heathrow, London Stansted, and London Luton were assessed in greater depth, and this new aspect of the report will continue in future years.

The regulator continues to work alongside airports to improve the experience of aviation travel for passengers with reduced mobility. The Civil Aviation Authority encourages airports to increase staffing and invest in equipment during winter when demand for flights is lower.