One of our primary goals is to facilitate air travel for persons with disabilities and improve the EU legislation in this field. Air travel
We are regularly informed by members about discrimination experienced when travelling – or trying to travel – by air.
These include
- Denied boarding or booking tickets because of a disability
- Lack of or unsatisfactory assistance
- Damaged or lost mobility equipment
Policy
Since 2006 it establishes a set of specific rights for passengers with disabilities. The basic principles of this regulation are:
- Persons with disabilities should not be discriminated against when booking a ticket or boarding an airplane
- Persons with disabilities have the right to receive assistance at the airport at no additional charge
- All staff dealing directly with the traveling public must receive relevant training, including disability awareness training
However, air carriers have the possibility to deny boarding to persons with disabilities for “safety reasons” – a loophole which should be eliminated as soon as possible.
Establishes rules for compensation and the liability of airlines for damaged, lost, or destroyed mobility equipment.
Accessible Airport Award
In cooperation with Airports’ Council International (ACI Europe) we created this award in 2016 for the most accessible airport in Europe.
Winners:
- 2016: Dublin Airport, Ireland
- 2017: Larnaca Airport, Cyprus
- 2018: Pafos Airport, Cyprus
- 2019: Gatwick Airport, United Kingdom
More information
- Questions and answers – what’s in the regulation on disabled air passengers for me? (add link)
- Website of the European Commission on Air Passengers’ Rights