To be fed up of airport accessibility services?

As I wrote earlier I know assistance is *usually (not everyone does and it doexn't remove the need if they've already got on the flight at the outbound airport/ they still need to get off the plane onceit's landed) booked in advance but it doesn't really make a difference in terms of getting off the plane. Fd notify the ground of those numbers and if they require the lift. At some airports steps and airbridges are used by the same aircraft and airline so if the lift is required may not even be known until the FD are told which gate to taxi to after landing. It really isn't as simple as notifying the airline before you travel. Throw in planes being delayed on stand or at a gate (taking up a space with an airbridge), staff sickness (drivers are still required to drive the lift/ operators to use it), equipment breaking etc

Advocate and fight for change- i'd love that ideal world for my son but it's a losing battle and I do honestly believe that the majority of pax have a decent experience.

It normally is, Monday 7/9 the only time I’ve had issues

Exactly, I posted earlier and was let down at Barcelona airport going back to Gatwick, I arrived early, and with my brother who lives there.
At 5.05 pm, he inquired about my assistance, to be told I’d have to go to security alone, and then had to ask a man, if I’d catch my plane at 5.30pm, I ached and felt awful . I have mid stage Parkinson’s at 64
The other 4 passengers got assistance and not me

It’s not just the ambulift. Our local airport has 7 lifts and only 2 aisle chairs. Last time we flew we waited over 2 hours for an aisle chair. One was in use and they couldn’t find the other one. We were the last flight in that evening and basically held the airport open until we could get off and though passport control etc.

Another thing that really bugs me is when people book assistance and the decide they don’t need it when it takes too long meaning staff waste even more time looking for missing passengers who have booked assistance.

And don’t get me started on people who book extra cabin bags as medical bags when they don’t need them. We can not travel without extra cabin allowance and I am so worried this accommodation will get withdrawn due to misuse.

Our experience with my FIL was positive. Boarded first, disembarked last, after a wait, but were then quickly taken through passport control. Swings and roundabouts for us. My FIL, who always has a lot to say for himself, was very complementary about the staff.

I really feel it depends on the airport. Dh is sight impaired, always books assistance and cant use aircraft steps as they move and bounce,( tried once and fell) We will no longer fly from our nearest airport ,Manchester, due to our experiances there 1hour 40 mins awating pick up, please push chair yourself, and no you cant have priority boarding , despite it being booked as we forgot. ( the faces of the flight crew when he took approx 5 mins to get to his seat from the door and held up the whole plane were intresting. ) Liverpool and Leeds are as a whole much better Having said that on our last jet 2 flight home it was intresting to see several "disabled" passangers needing the ambulift to board walk down the steps with ease when it was made clear only one person could escort those on the amublift. Obvs all wanted priority boarding from spain.

I have a severly disabled child. He uses a wheelchair and also has cognitive disabilities so I have experienced the system from both sides as I used to be cabin crew too (gave up due to his needs and disabilities).

You are being unreasonable. It is not practical to have a lift at every remote gate/ non airbridge. In the UK reasonable adjustments are just that 'reasonable' having an ambi lift at every gate and enough staff to support every passenger on every flight incase they is not reasonable. In a perfect world no disabled pax would wait longer than any other pax but that isn't the way the world works.

You may book airport assistance with the airline in advance but realistically the airport doesn't get the numbers that say they require the ambi lift until the flight deck advise them not long before landing. The airport may have to five flights with 20 passengers on each plane requiring help at the same time or they could have none.

You were just really unlucky in your experience.

I’m ex cabin crew too. I was long haul at LHR. It was always embarrassing how badly passengers needing assistance were treated. We constantly waited 45 minutes after walking passengers had disembarked for the high lift.
Before the London Olympics we had to do disability awareness courses, and for a few months we experienced how things ought to be, but within six months of the Olympics things slid back to being dreadful again.

That's awful. But you're right until you or someone in your family is disabled there is no insight into how badly disabled people are treated. It's disgraceful.

I have a sunflower yanyard but also a National Disability Card which has to be verified. Sadly only the sunflower yanyard gets recognised.

I think Frank Gardner from the BBC has documented similar experiences on a number of occasions. So this is a regular occurrence - in addition to wheelchairs being damaged in the hold.

If planes can have stairs for each plane, or a tunnel... I do not see why a lift is so hard to organise.

Planes are fairly closely tracked, you know where they are you know how many you have in a day, its not like they generally show up unannounced, they're not a flocking species that show up en masse because you've got nicer aviation fuel than the next airport down the bloody road.

Why doesn't someone come up with a replacement for stairs that everyone can use, so you only need one way off the plane if its not the air bridge option?

The bottom line is money - airlines make less money if they provide accessibility routinely, for all. I appreciate they are businesses and do need to make a profit... I do not accept that they need to make as much profit as they actually do.

Last time I flew the airport staff were excellent. It was SwissAir and run like a military operation. Only one person was rude - some minimum wage security oik at Manchester. I gave him a stern talking to in my teacher voice and reminded him I was old enough to be his grandmother and had done my share in the community. He did have the grace to apologise.

I also had another passenger ask what was my disability and when I told him arthritis he said "Oh my wife has that but she doesn't like to make a fuss." He was probably sorry he opened his mouth because he then got my speech on how he was labouring under a hopelessly outdated model of disability. Never argue with a retired academic because you will get chapter and verse on the Equality Act and wish you had never opened your mouth.

I don't travel any more and would rather cut my throat with a rusty saw than visit another airport.

We had a very unfortunate experience on our first flight. Explained our son has autism and congenital spinal scoliosis and a recent stress fracture to his upper spinal column, which is exacerbated by standing for too long.
Went straight to the pre booked assistance desk where we were asked if he needs a wheelchair “not unless there’s too much standing around”
We were pushed into the “regular” queue, had no one to ask or speak to and no way to get out of the queue and to the shorter assistance queue where we should have been. My son was actually crumpled in pain, crying and sweating before we could get to any help whatsoever, and by then our first holiday abroad had already been tainted by people just not doing their jobs very well.
It’s a shocking insight into how those with disabilities are treated!

I travel a lot, and only experienced this once at an airport abroad.

I travel through Manchester, and it's always been great. The guys even offer to take me around duty free. But I usually go in the 18+ lounge.

I've seen this too. Ideally as a visually impaired person I need someone's arm because it's usually so busy but can't always get someone because of the lack of staff

The one thing I can't understand is why I'm told to be in the waiting area and hour before the gate is even announced.

We’ve not had any problems (yet!!) flying from Stansted and Heathrow. The only time things were a bit tense was when the pilot had to get my dads wheelchair from the hold and bring it upstairs because the ground crew refused to bring it up. We’ve never had to wait longer than 10 minutes so have been lucky. Perhaps flying w Ryanair is good because they’ve got such a tight schedule for turnarounds.

the other thing I find irritating and disrespectful is when the people ask “what’s wrong with your dad”. It’s none of your bloody business what’s wrong with him, but he needs your full assistance from check in to seat so hop to it!

Ds has an active wheelchair so uses a travel backpack - think it’s about 80L

My ds arrived in Berlin. Got off the plane via the lift quickly.

The accessible bus to the airport was going to be a while and ds can stand a little and transfer easily.

They asked him if he could get the standard bus. Ds said yes. Then said they’d take his wheelchair and meet him ……..:

At the other end of the terminal.

Ds just laughed and looked at them until the penny dropped.

They called the accessible bas whilst he waited on the tarmac. Luckily only for about 10 minutes .