July 28, 2023
Updated July 28, 2023
Image courtesy of Melody Powell
Image caption: Melody Powell is looking forward to a post-pandemic trip to New York
A BBC investigation has found that major airlines are charging some disabled passengers double the fare for flights leaving the UK.
Around 30 airlines contacted by the BBC said passengers with mobility issues must buy a full fare ticket for their personal assistant (PA).
This is despite Civil Aviation Authority guidance on EU law, which the UK will keep after leaving the EU, encouraging airlines to subsidise the costs.
People with mobility issues claim this situation is discriminatory.
Melody Powell has been saving up to visit friends in New York after connecting with them virtually for years because of the coronavirus pandemic, but she says the extra costs make flights incredibly expensive.
Melody, 25, uses a wheelchair and needs to fly with a carer to go to the toilet and get off the plane. She currently has enough money to pay for her own ticket – nearly £600 – but she’s still a long way from being able to buy a full-fare ticket again.
“Because I have a disability, it’s very scary to think about how much it would cost to fly,” she says.
Richard Am is unable to visit his family in South Africa over the holiday season or for short notice visits because PA tickets cost £1,500.
Recently, her 77-year-old mother broke three ribs, making air travel too expensive.
“I’d love to go and see my mother,” Richard says, “but it would cost twice as much, so it’s not practical for me to go.”
Image courtesy of Richard Amm
Image caption: Richard says the cost of PA flights means he can’t visit family in South Africa for Christmas
The 40-year-old uses a wheelchair and needs help on long flights because he has difficulty lifting his arms.
He feels the current situation is “completely discriminatory” and makes it even harder for disabled people to manage the already high costs of living.
“Most of us are too poor to even afford to buy our own tickets,” Richard says.
The scale of the problem
BBC News contacted more than 100 airlines, including all those flying out of Heathrow, to find out how many require PAs and whether they offer discounts.
Only Pakistan International Airlines offers PA discounts for both international and domestic travel. 28 airlines confirmed that they require passengers with mobility issues to purchase an additional PA ticket at full price. This includes major airlines such as Emirates, Etihad Airways, American Airlines and Virgin Atlantic, as well as budget carriers such as easyJet, Ryanair, Jet2 and Eurowings. A further 40 airlines, including Turkish Airlines and Delta, recommend or require passengers to bring a PA on their websites, but do not clearly indicate how much it costs, or whether it is paid by the individual or the airline. Some airlines in Australia, Malaysia, Canada and India offer discounts only for domestic flights, and Aegean Airlines said it would consider requests on a case-by-case basis. The remaining 33 airlines either did not respond to the BBC’s request, did not have the information posted, or had ceased operations before the article was published.
British Airways told the BBC it offers discounted PA fares on direct flights to Brazil and the US, but declined to say how much the discount is. US law allows subsidised tickets, but only if the airline decides PA is necessary for safety reasons and the passenger doesn’t think so.
But in reality, the clause is very rarely invoked and won’t affect the majority of disabled passengers, the BBC reported, as most people who are told they need a PA already acknowledge they need one.
Josh Wintersgill, a wheelchair user and entrepreneur who works to improve airline accessibility, said being asked by airlines to bring a PA and pay for one is a common complaint from passengers with disabilities.
“Being forced to travel with someone when many people don’t need one creates a huge disadvantage and incurs additional costs. This is extremely unfair and borders on discrimination,” he said.
He said “radical international cooperation” was needed to improve “outdated and inefficient regulations and guidelines.”
The CAA, which regulates UK aviation policy set by the Department for Transport, also encourages free or discounted PA tickets but has no power to enforce them. CAA director Anne Bowles told the BBC that while there is no legal obligation for airlines to offer free or discounted seats for accompanying passengers, “our view is that it is best practice for airlines to do so.”
Adopting these recommendations would bring the aviation industry in line with the UK-wide Travelcard scheme, which provides disabled people (and in some cases their carers) with free or discounted travel on buses, trains and taxis. Similar PA discounts would also apply to ticketed events.
Melody is frustrated that airlines are not required to offer discounted fares.
“Laws to support people with disabilities are not binding,” she says. “They are always just suggestions that people conveniently forget exist.”
Airlines and airports are required to provide passengers with disabilities with free boarding assistance, including assistance with boarding and disembarking, in accordance with their non-discrimination commitments.
However, airline staff are not required to assist passengers with disabilities in using the restroom or evacuating the aircraft during the flight.
This is because airlines are not considered service providers under UK equality law, leaving people with few legal options to challenge disability discrimination in air travel.
Campaigner Chris Wood said further legislation was needed as current advice was “only guidelines, not law”.
He told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme what the rules should be and what we want them to be “are two different things”, suggesting airlines should show “a bit of empathy”.
The Flying Disabled founder added that while some airlines are “fantastic”, all airlines “need guidance”.
Image credit: Getty Images
Image caption: Airlines and airports are required to help passengers with disabilities get on and off planes free of charge.
Last year, the government carried out an aviation consultation which addressed accessibility for disabled passengers but, as with air passenger charter, did not specifically address the extra ticket costs for PAs.
Asked by the BBC about the lack of widespread adoption by airlines of the recommendation to subsidise PA fares, the Department for Transport said it was “committed to ensuring” accessible air travel, but made no mention of additional ticket costs.
World situation
Global enforcement of disability rights in air travel is difficult as there is no collective international instrument imposing obligations.
For example, in a 2019 lawsuit in Canada ruled that requiring obese passengers or passengers with disabilities to purchase two seats was discriminatory, so the country’s airlines began subsidizing PA tickets for domestic flights only.
Legal experts told the BBC that the most likely path to change is for a union of countries like the EU to impose standards across its member states that would then become the global standard. After Brexit, the UK’s position would require its own commitments.
People with disabilities “avoid flying”
Rather than face the additional costs and challenges associated with flying as a passenger with a disability, many people avoid flying at all.
Ben Iles, 44, loves to travel but has flown only twice in the past 20 years because of unpleasant experiences getting on and off planes, and now prefers to use a van converted into a wheelchair.
“We have everything we need,” he says.
Image caption: Ben taking an unusual flight
But there are signs of progress for disabled and reduced mobility travellers: last month the Department for Transport announced plans to give the CAA more power to fine airlines for breaching consumer law.
This includes removing compensation caps for damaged wheelchairs, which are currently treated like regular baggage and valued by weight rather than price.
The CAA has also proposed a ranking to bring greater transparency to the disability accommodations of different airlines.
In response to the BBC’s investigation, aviation trade body Airlines UK said its airlines had a “track record” of constructively addressing disability issues and would continue to support all efforts to improve the quality and access of air travel.
Have you had a similar experience to the passengers in this article? Share your experience by emailing [email protected].
If you’d like to speak to a BBC journalist, please include your contact details. You can also get in touch via the following methods:
If you’re reading this page and can’t see the form, you can submit your question or comment by visiting the mobile version of the BBC website or emailing us at [email protected]. Please make sure to include your name, age and place of residence.