European Airports Respond Needs Of People With Disabilities

Sheila King of Hervey Bay’s Access For All Alliance tells us there are new rules for assistance at European airports. The new legislation means that the responsibility for assistance has been taken out of the hands of the individual airlines and given to the airport management with overall responsibility to be with the Civil Airline Authority of each country who will monitor that the legislation is being adhered to:

New Rules In Effect 8 July 2008

If you are flying to any country in Europe you will notice that the new laws are in fact being observed now.

“When a person with disability or reduced mobility arrives at an airport or travelling on a flight, the airport managing body will assume responsibility for ensuring the provision of assistance so that the person can take the flight for which there is a reservation made.”

The assistance that the airport managing body should provide, consists of the following essential obligations:

• Assistance and necessary measures to enable PMR all tasks regarding the various steps of taking a flight between two airports: Communication arrival at the airport and request of assistance at designated points inside and outside the terminals
• Moving from these points to the corresponding check-in desk
• Checking of the ticket and check-in
• Moving from the check-in desk to the plane, through the relevant checks
• Boarding the plane with the technical means the manoeuvre requires
• Moving around inside the plane from the door of the same until the allocated seat
• Location and Recovery of hand luggage on the plane
• Moving around inside the plane from the seats until the plane´s door
• Landing of the plane, providing the technical means and equipment required to do so
• Moving from the plane to the baggage claim hall, through the corresponding controls
• Moving from baggage claim hall to the designated point
• Connection with other flights for passengers in transit, with assistance on and and air, as well as in terminals and between them
• Moving to services
• Permission for providing assistance on behalf of their companions at the airport, boarding and landing
• On land handling of the whole mobility equipment, upon notification 48 hours before and depending on availability of space and legislation on dangerous goods
• Temporary replacement of damaged or lost equipments
• Assistance to guide dogs
• Communication in the most appropriate format of the information needed to access to flights

Thanks for this advice to travellers Sheila…when will Australia adopt this approach I wonder?