The representative organisation of persons with disabilities in Europe
Logo : European disability Forum


Disabled Air passengers’ Rights

In 5 July 2006, the European Union adopted a new Regulation on the rights of persons with disabilities and persons with reduced mobility travelling by air. It was the result of an intensive campaign led by the European Disability Forum during several years and its adoption constitutes an important success for the European disability movement.

Arbitrary discrimination against disabled people

Persons with disabilities regularly experience various forms of discrimination when travelling by air. The most common ones are:

  • denied boarding for arbitrary reasons
  • degrading treatment
  • poor quality assistance or additional charges to receive assistance
  • mobility equipment and assistive devices being damaged, destroyed or lost
  • unjustified quotas of disabled passengers per plane…

The regulation is the first disability specific legislation adopted by the European Unionever and it its requirements will hopefully lead to an end of the discrimination of air passengers with disabilities.

Who is protected by the Regulation?

Any person with reduced mobility or sensory impairment, intellectual disability or any other cause of disability, age, and whose situation needs appropriate attention and the adaptation to his or her particular needs of the service made available to all passengers.

What is in the Regulation?

The overall principle and aim of the Regulation is to guarantee equal treatment for all passengers, including those with a disability. This implies:

Boarding

An airline shall not refuse, on the ground of reduced mobility or disability, to accept the reservation of a person or to embark a person, except for:

  • Safety reasons established by national, Community or International law (which should be publicly available in accessible formats)
  • if the size of the aircraft or its doors makes the embarkation or carriage of a disabled person physically impossible

If boarding is denied, the disabled passenger has the right to be informed about the reasons thereof, and to receive re-imbursement or re-routing.

Assistance

A disabled passenger has the right to receive assistance, which must be adapted to his/her specific needs. 48 hours before departure prior notification is nevertheless required. If the passenger does not notify his or her needs, the airline shall however do all efforts to assist the person anyway in order to allow the person for traveling.

The assistance, to be supplied by a person who has undergone through disability awareness and disability equality training, will:

  • o be provided from the point of arrival at the airport (with the transport mean chosen by the disabled passenger) or, if the passenger prefers, from the check-in desk, to the point of departure of the airport of arrival;
  • o be provided at no additional charge
  • o be seamless

Mobility equipment and assistive devices

Thanks to the new Regulation, the disabled has the right to bring mobility equipment and assistive devices and/or to travel with his or her assistance dog in the cabin.

In case of lost or damage during the trip, compensation will be provided according international, Community or national law. Unfortunately, such legislation does not yet exist at national or European level. The European Commission is currently analysing the issue. In the meantime, the Montreal Convention is applied, meaning that passengers with disabilities are only guaranteed compensation to a certain amount, which does not necessarily cover the full expenses of the passenger.

Accessible information

Essential information, provided at airports an on board the aircraft, should be provided in accessible formats for disabled air passengers, according to their needs.

Complaints

In case of discrimination, the disabled passenger can contact the managing body of the airport, or the airline concerned, depending on where and by whom the discrimination occurred.

In case of no satisfaction, the person can address the enforcement bodies that will be set in each Member State. The list of enforcement bodies can be found on the website of the European Commission. 
 
When will the Regulation be applicable?

The regulation entered into force on 26 July 2008.

For more information:

EDF documents

  • Toolkit on Air Passenger’s Rights

Contains detailed information on the Regulation implications, as well as relevant contacts and enforcement bodies in each country.

Useful links



« BACK