Heathrow opens its doors to showcase improved assistance services

This Saturday Heathrow will open its doors to show persons with disabilities the assistance options available at each stage of the journey and to listen to their feedback on how to further improve services available to passengers who require support. This event coincides with the launch of the Civil Aviation Authority’s annual report on special assistance service which has classified Heathrow’s service as “good” – following the airport’s improvement in service levels, oversight, and investments since last year.

First of a series of events to promote accessible air travel, the Heathrow Open Day will be run by the Accessible Transport Forum (ATF), the grassroots arm of the Heathrow Access Advisory Group (HAAG) in conjunction with Heathrow airport, British Airways, and the airport’s special assistance provider, OmniServ. This event is aimed at providing a general introduction to air travel at Heathrow’s Terminal 5, while following events will offer more focussed tours for passengers with specific needs – for example, for those passengers who travel with personal wheelchairs, or those with hidden disabilities.

The Accessible Transport Forum (ATF) is part of Heathrow Access Advisory Group (HAAG) whose key objective is to bring accessibility and inclusion to the forefront of Heathrow’s agenda.

HAAG Chair Roberto Castiglioni said:

“Engaging with persons with disabilities is essential to keep accessibility at the forefront of Heathrow’s thinking, especially now that the expansion plan has entered a more dynamic phase. In the coming months the HAAG will work with Heathrow to help develop the accessible airport of the future, an environment for everyone to use.”

The launch of the events comes on the same day the Civil Aviation Authority has published its new Airport Accessibility Report. This report acknowledges the steps Heathrow has made in improving its service for people with disabilities, which has restored the airport’s ranking to “good” following a “poor” rating last year. The new ranking follows a year of rapid changes for the airport which saw the HAAG established, £23 million invested in new equipment, resources and technology, and innovations like a distinctive lanyard for passengers with hidden disabilities introduced.

Reacting to the report, airport’s Customer Relations and Service Director Jonathan Coen said:

“We are very pleased that the hard work, and investments of our colleagues and partners has paid off and resulted in a ‘good’ ranking this year. But we have much further to go – and we need to continue to work hard to fulfil our vision to make every journey better, for every passenger. In addition to growing our passengers’ confidence to fly, I hope the feedback from these Open Days leads to more improvements so one day we can set the standard for outstanding service for people with disabilities.”

source: eTN