Disability and Air Travel

Regulation (EC) No. 1107/2006 concerning the rights of disabled persons and persons with reduced mobility when travelling by air provides that airports and air carriers must assist passengers who need help to get through the airport and board the plane. As long as you provide at least 48 hours notice to the tour operator or air carrier, you should receive assistance unless there are safety reasons that prevent this. Our new guidance below gives you more information.

If things go wrong and you experience disability discrimination when travelling by air, you can make a complaint to the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) - the body responsible for handling complaints about airports in England, Scotland and Wales, and any airlines flying from them. You can contact the CAA here.You can also pursue a claim through the court system. The time limit for taking a claim to court is six months, less one day, starting from the date the discrimination happened. Please note, compensation for injury to feelings cannot be awarded for discrimination which occurs during embarkation and disembarkation or on board the plane.

Please note: the Equality and Human Rights Commission does not have the legal powers to deal with complaints under this law.

Resources

Your passport to a smooth journey

Top tips for disabled and less mobile passengers

As a result of this case and similar evidence which has been brought to our attention, we have revised the popular guidance we produced a few years ago to help disabled and less mobile passengers prepare for air travel. You can access the new guidance here.

Your Rights to Fly: What you need to know

A step-by-step guide for disabled and less mobile air passengers

For more detail about the law and what you are entitled to, please see our revised ‘rights to fly’ information.

Last Updated: 09 Feb 2016