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| Ministers outline plan for disabled people's air travel | Ministers outline plan for disabled people's air travel |
| (about 1 hour later) | |
| New measures to improve air travel for disabled passengers are being considered by the government. | New measures to improve air travel for disabled passengers are being considered by the government. |
| They could include a limit on the time passengers wait for assistance boarding and disembarking, and quicker reunions with their wheelchairs. | They could include a limit on the time passengers wait for assistance boarding and disembarking, and quicker reunions with their wheelchairs. |
| The issues faced by disabled flyers were recently highlighted by the BBC's Frank Gardner, whose wheelchair was lost at Heathrow Airport. | The issues faced by disabled flyers were recently highlighted by the BBC's Frank Gardner, whose wheelchair was lost at Heathrow Airport. |
| The government said it wants to ensure a "positive" flying experience. | The government said it wants to ensure a "positive" flying experience. |
| Ministers are also talking to the aviation industry about developing priority storage for wheelchairs so that they can be returned to their owners quickly upon arrival. | Ministers are also talking to the aviation industry about developing priority storage for wheelchairs so that they can be returned to their owners quickly upon arrival. |
| They are also considering the removal of seats to allow wheelchairs to be used in cabins - allowing those who cannot transfer or who require specialist seating to travel - and to create space for disabled toilets | They are also considering the removal of seats to allow wheelchairs to be used in cabins - allowing those who cannot transfer or who require specialist seating to travel - and to create space for disabled toilets |
| Aviation minister Baroness Sugg said: "We have to do everything possible to ensure passengers are put at the very heart of our aviation industry and the flying experience is a positive one for everyone boarding a plane." | Aviation minister Baroness Sugg said: "We have to do everything possible to ensure passengers are put at the very heart of our aviation industry and the flying experience is a positive one for everyone boarding a plane." |
| Analysis | |
| By Lucy Webster, BBC News | |
| The issues these measures attempt to allay are all too common. As a wheelchair user, I have experienced so many problems that the mere thought of air travel causes a twinge of anxiety. | |
| More often than not, my wheelchair is damaged. I have seen my precious motor (detachable, as the airlines like it) be flung with great force onto a pile of luggage, as if it were a bag of clothes and not my only means of independent movement. | |
| I cannot go to the toilet on the plane as I need a personal assistant to help me and the cubicles are too small, so I have not taken a long-haul flight since I stopped travelling with my parents. I wonder if I will ever fulfil my desire to see, as an adult, the world beyond Europe. | |
| The plans announced today would go some way to making my experience better. But they do not tackle the most degrading part of flying: the attitude of ground staff and cabin crew. I was once asked to get out of my wheelchair, just to make security's life easier. | |
| That particular problem will not be solved by more rules. | |
| Mr Gardner, who was kept waiting on a plane for almost two hours after landing at Heathrow in March, described the government's ideas as a "welcome step" but added "we're unlikely to see actual changes in near future". | Mr Gardner, who was kept waiting on a plane for almost two hours after landing at Heathrow in March, described the government's ideas as a "welcome step" but added "we're unlikely to see actual changes in near future". |
| He said there is "still a long road to travel". | He said there is "still a long road to travel". |
| "Many disabled people rely on essential equipment like wheelchairs for their own personal mobility," said Keith Richards, who advises the government on transport for disabled people. | "Many disabled people rely on essential equipment like wheelchairs for their own personal mobility," said Keith Richards, who advises the government on transport for disabled people. |
| While Mr Richards said that while wheelchairs are "too often treated in the same way as baggage" he welcomed the move to give them priority. | While Mr Richards said that while wheelchairs are "too often treated in the same way as baggage" he welcomed the move to give them priority. |
| The government is due to publish its aviation strategy in early 2019. | The government is due to publish its aviation strategy in early 2019. |