The UK’s Civil Aviation Authority has published its annual accessibility report covering the country’s top 30 airports. For the second consecutive year, Manchester Airport was rated “poor” and was the only airport to receive this lowest rating.
The CAA highlighted problems including long waiting times for assistance and shortcomings in how performance data is recorded and reported.
The report also notes that Manchester Airport is taking steps to address these concerns. To reduce waiting times, the airport coordinated with its airlines to provide additional funding so OCS, its assistance provider, could increase staff numbers during peak periods.
On a more positive note, 16 of the 30 airports were rated “very good,” a substantial increase from six airports in the previous year.
Paul Smith, Consumers and Markets Director at the UK Civil Aviation Authority, said the findings are encouraging overall: “We are pleased that surveys show satisfaction levels remain high and that the vast majority of passengers’ journeys go smoothly. The improved performance of many airports should give disabled passengers greater confidence to travel from UK airports. However, there are still too many occasions where things go wrong. We will continue to focus our work on ensuring that standards are maintained and improved, particularly for those whose experience has not been as positive as it could have been. Where we see examples of bad practice, we will not hesitate to hold airports to account and take the necessary enforcement action.”