The majority of disabled airline passengers are deeply concerned about the standard of service offered to them, according to a new study.

The report by muscular dystrophy lobbyist Trailblazers found that more than half of the disabled people polled felt that accessibility issues in air travel had “a major impact” upon their choice of holiday destination.

Furthermore, 80 per cent of young disabled people taking part in the survey believed that holidays were “more expensive as a direct result of disability”.

Areas of widespread concern highlighted included accessibility of aircraft toilets, aircraft boarding and travel, staff attitudes and organisation, disabled travellers’ additional expenses, and the way in which essential disability-related equipment is treated in transit.

Low-cost airline easyJet was criticised in the report due to its policy of not carrying wheelchairs that weigh more than 60kg unless they are dismantled. Trailblazers claims that the majority of powered wheelchairs weigh around 100kg with batteries removed, and so typically end up in the hold where they may become damaged.

In response, an easyJet spokesperson told The Guardian that the rules were due to health and safety regulations on baggage handlers’ lifting limits, and that as a short-haul carrier it does not have suitable aircraft or equipment for handling heavy items or cargo.

The airline added: “EasyJet welcomes more than a quarter of a million passengers with reduced mobility every year and we regularly carry powered wheelchairs, provided they can be collapsed into separate parts weighing less than 60kg each. This is a necessity to protect the health and safety of the baggage handlers who have to lift the wheelchair into the aircraft.”

Fellow no-frills carriers Ryanair and BMI also faced criticism in the report due to their policies of charging disabled customers fees of £100 per canister for personal oxygen supplies and denying them the option of using their own. Trailblazers said that this “amounts to a charge on breathing”, an accusation which Ryanair called “absurd and false”.

In a statement, Ryanair claimed that it does not issue disabled customers with any supplementary charges and that the fee for “pre-booked oxygen” reflects “the cost of providing and servicing this equipment on board”.

A spokesman for the airline said: “Ryanair clearly does not charge disabled passengers any extra fees. Since breathing is entirely free on our flights… there is no truth in Trailblazers’ false claims of a ‘tax on breathing’.”

Trailblazers has the stated goal of “[f]ighting against social injustices experienced by young people living with muscle disease or a related condition”. The organisation is now calling for the scrapping of on-board oxygen charges and for changes in carrier policy to “allow all wheelchairs to travel”.

© Cheapflights Ltd

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