Accessibility improvements for disabled passengers at Manchester Airport praised by watchdog

manchestereveningnews.co.uk:

The aviation regulator has praised accessibility improvements made at Manchester Airport for passengers with disabilities and reduced mobility.

Airport services for disabled and less mobile travellers across the country have improved 'significantly', a report today from the UK Civil Aviation Authority shows, with Manchester Airport improving its rating from 'poor' to 'very good' over the year to March 2023 - one of seven airports to show marked improvement.

The Manchester Evening News has told the stories over the years of disabled passengers left stranded on board planes, some for hours, and of barriers and frustrations they have encountered passing through Manchester Airport. Try MEN Premium for FREE by clicking here for no ads, fun puzzles and brilliant new features. But the airport was singled out in the report for recent 'heavy' investment in recruitment and equipment, which the CAA said had 'subsequently delivered significant improvements in the quality of the assistance service at the airport'.

Changes made to security lanes and the Terminal 2 lay-out were also referenced. The report said: "Manchester has delivered significant improvements in wait times for arriving disabled and less mobile passengers, achieving very good ratings in the third and fourth quarters. "In our Interim Report, we noted that an unacceptable number of disabled and less mobile passengers missed flights in the spring and summer of 2022.