Various bits of legislation introduced in Britain and the EU over the last two years has improved the way airlines and airports handle passengers with special needs.
Airlines are not allowed to deny disabled passengers the right to fly unless they have demonstrable logistical issues with the type of aircraft, configuration and crew available, for example an airline is allowed to refuse bookings on a narrow-bodied aircraft for someone requiring wheelchair assistance if they already had ten such passengers on the same flight.
Assistance through the airport and the door of the aircraft is now the responsibility of the airport operator, not the airline. Generally speaking, airlines send automated messages to the airports with details of all their special needs passengers 24 hours before the flight. For this reason, airlines require passengers who need assistance to make themselves known 48 hours in advance of travel. They can make arrangements for last-minute travel but simply turning up at the airport and demanding a wheelchair absolves the airline and airport of any responsibility.
This seems an eminently sensible piece of legislation because it resolves the issue of who arranges the wheelchair assistance and it puts the onus on the passenger to ensure they give their airline proper notification.
When you book a flight on nearly any airline website, you will see a box asking if you require assistance. Obviously, it is best that the request is made when you book because you will then have a record and the airline should have no excuse for not passing on the information.
Unfortunately, there have been problems with some inclusive tour operators either not gathering the information in the first place or not passing it on in the correct way. ABTA has been forced to remind its members to amend their booking systems to allow for this.
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