Nearly 7 in 10 people with disabilities consider that they are discriminated against when flying.
These are the stark findings of our 9th Human Rights Report: “Rights Delayed: Air Travel for Passengers with Disabilities”.
The report highlights how the European Union’s laws on passenger rights, and their inconsistent application, provide limited protection for persons with disabilities.
A testimony from a passenger with disabilities sums it up:
I never know if I will lose money or will actually be able to fly.
Even when EU laws require airlines to provide assistance and support, the vague wording leads to very different implementation. This has real consequences: passengers can be left behind when returning home, or have assistive devices, such as wheelchairs, refused at the gate.
The report shows the confusing restrictions people face when travelling:
- Restrictions for the size and weight of wheelchairs, and number of wheelchair users in a flight. Even when using the same airplane model, restrictions vary per airline. For example, if someone flies in an Airbus 321 with SAS, the wheelchair cannot weigh more than 149 kg. With Finnair, it’s 300 kgs.
- Some airlines do not provide cabin wheelchairs, which allow persons using wheelchairs to go to the bathroom during the flight. The lack of cabin wheelchair leads to some people having to crawl to the toilet. Luxair, Tarom and Vueling do not provide this option.
- Assistance dogs: some airlines do not accept national certification schemes, relying on international documents that are impossible to get in some countries. This is notably the case of Brussels Airlines, Ryanair and Aer Lingus.
Some airlines also potentially breach EU law:
- KM Malta charges a fee for the provision of assistance, which is contrary to EU law.
- Bulgaria Air, KM Malta and Sky Express request medical certificates or forms for certain types of disabilities.
- Luxair, Bulgaria Air and KM Malta require longer prenotification periods for assistance provision than allowed.
- EasyJet, Ryanair and LOT deny the right to travel with an assistance dog on specific routes.
- KLM, Air France and Iberia require longer prenotification periods than allowed for travelling with assistance dogs in certain routes.
While there is still a long journey to take for equal travel for everyone, the report identifies a clear path.
We notably call on the European Union to strengthen passenger rights laws:
- Clearly prohibit denial of boarding on the grounds of disability.
- Fully pay for repairs and replacement if assistive devices (wheelchairs, mobility scooters, ventilators, etc) are damaged or destroyed during travel.
- Uphold the right for persons with disabilities to travel without ‘needing approval’ (no prenotification requirements).
- Ensure the mutual recognition of assistance dogs throughout the EU.
- Establish minimum accessibility rules to travel with assistive equipment and assistance throughout airlines and aircrafts.
We also call on airlines to take responsibility and ensure the same travel conditions for all their customers. They must notably fully reimburse broken and destroyed assistive devices, allow travel with assistance dogs and buy accessible planes.
Yannis Vardakastanis, President of the European Disability Forum, said:
This report shows the sad reality: freedom of movement is still a mirage for persons with disabilities. It is time for governments and airlines to take responsibility and guarantee the same conditions of travel for all of us!
Gunta Anca, EDF Vice-President and a wheelchair-user who frequently flies, said:
As a long-time user of an electric wheelchair, I have been denied boarding and had issues with broken wheelchairs more times than I can count. I urge the European Union and airlines to take this report for what it can be: not a list of complaints, but a roadmap to equal travel.
Additional Information
- EDF 9th Human Rights Report ‘Rights Delayed: Air Travel for Passengers with Disabilities’.
- 2023 report ‘End the nightmare: Passengers with disabilities deserve to travel by air’
Contacts
André Félix
Communications Manager – European Disability Forum
Daniel Casas
Accessibility Officer – European Disability Forum
Additional stories
If I have the choice, I prefer to travel by train or private car over plane, even if the journey takes longer. Despite having certain rights as a passenger, there are still so many physical barriers: I can’t travel on my wheelchair, I need to spend lots of time liaising with air carriers to make sure they allow the wheelchair on board, I have to seat for hours on uncomfortable seats, I can’t use the bathroom on board and I need to buy an extra ticket for my personal assistant. Most of these barriers do not exist in other transport modes
Passenger with a physical disability (Germany)
After the landing, we have to wait for the assistance to come (I’ve sometimes waited for more than 1 hour) and we have to hope that our wheelchairs have not been damaged. If they have been damaged, it ruins our trip and we go through several months of hardships (paperwork, reduced mobility and independence, etc) until we can get our custom-made devices replaced.
Passenger with a physical disability (Spain)
My wheelchair has often been damaged during the flight. I would estimate at least three times out of every 10 flights there is some kind of damage, despite the fact that I make sure to fold it as much as possible, attach labels with the word ‘FRAGILE’ and provide guidance to the staff on how to transport and lift it. I have almost given up sending complaint letters to airlines because the standard response shows complete lack of interest. I have received compensation for serious damage to the wheelchair but even this has never been the full amount required for the repair, and it took many months to be sent.
Frequent flyer with a physical disability (Belgium)
When travelling with my disabled daughter, the availability of changing toilet facilities is an issue. We have had instances that because of the lack of this couch, my daughter had to lay down on the bathroom floor to have her diaper changed” Relative of a passenger with a neurodevelopmental
Relative of a passenger with a neurodevelopmental disability (Malta)
In Lisbon, I was placed in a corridor for 3 hours waiting for the plane, with no access to toilets, water or food and no way to contact the assistance who had left me there.
Passenger with a physical disability (Portugal)