CAA tells five UK airports to make accessibility improvements amid general progress

Anna Bowles, CAA head of consumer policy and enforcement, said: “Making aviation accessible to all is an important part of our work to protect the public and enable the aerospace sector.

"Progress is being made, and not rating any airports ‘poor’ this year is welcome, but there’s more work to do, especially by those airports we have rated ‘needs improvement’ in our report. We will continue to work with the sector to ensure that standards are maintained and improved.”

The CAA began setting standards for airports in 2014. For the first time, this year’s report also includes a “deep dive accessibility assessment” of airports throughout the year. Heathrow, Stansted and Luton were the airports to be assessed in greater depth this year.

Karen Dee, chief executive of AirportsUK, the trade body for UK airports, said: "Airports work very hard to ensure those passengers who require extra assistance can enjoy the benefits of air travel and while there is always more to be done, we are heading in the right direction.

“More investment is being made in staff, training, technologies and accessible infrastructure, and airports are in continuous discussion with passenger groups to incorporate feedback, meaning we are confident that we will continue to see improvements.”