Call for disabled passengers to write to their local MP regarding airlines accountability

A campaign launched by Disability Rights UK is encouraging members of the public to write to local MPs to support its call for airlines and other actors to be held accountable if they fail to look after disabled passengers and their equipment.

The Rights on Flights campaign demands that the UK Government grants the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) the powers to fine airlines and other actors for damage to wheelchairs or essential mobility devices; when they leave disabled passengers on flights for a prolonged period once the flight has landed; or when they fail to provide adequate assistance despite prior knowledge of disabled passengers’ needs.

According to Disability Rights UK, the CAA’s current regime of oversight for accessible air travel is limited and ineffective in holding airlines and/or other actors to account when such issues arise. Charters and codes of conduct would not work.

The campaign was launched with support from disabled TV presenter Sophie Morgan and MP Marion Fellows.

Marion Fellows MP has written to the Prime Minister, Rishi Sunak, and all parliamentarians, and the wider public is being invited to write to their MP in support via the Disability Rights UK Rights On Flights campaign page.

Disability Rights UK says that disabled passengers often suffer assistance not being properly provided, being left alone on aircraft long after landing, or having essential mobility equipment damaged or broken

Sophie, who is a wheelchair user and frequently travels internationally for her TV work, conceived the campaign with Marion Fellows MP and Disability Rights UK after recently having her bespoke wheelchair and electric-powered front-wheel BATEC system damaged beyond use on a journey between Los Angeles and London.

Sophie said: “Enough is enough. This is a short-term solution to an ongoing problem and the beginning of a long journey towards a whole system overhaul of the entire airline industry.

“Disabled people need to be able to have the confidence to trust air travel. And this campaign is the first step for that. We are not asking for special treatment. We are asking for our experiences to match those of non-disabled people.

“How many more people need to get hurt, lose vital mobility equipment or even die before we see change?”