East Midlands Airport’s Assisted Travel service is among UK’s best again

East Midlands Airport has been rated ‘very good’ by the CAA in its latest report on airport accessibility, one of only 11 UK airports to make the highest grade. The airport’s Assisted Travel service is provided by an 80-strong in-house team dedicated to helping people get ‘from kerbside to airside.’ It is a one-to-one service tailored to the needs of each individual, forecast to help more than 100,000 customers on their journey through the airport for the first time this year.

The service gives passengers access to quiet rooms in check-in and the departure lounge which the CAA highlighted as best practice in its report. The CAA also picked out the airport’s excellence in promoting ways to contact its Assisted Travel team, through a live chat on WhatsApp and over the phone, with clear information available throughout the airport and on its website ( https://www.eastmidlandsairport.com/help/special-assistance/).

Assisted Travel provides support for people facing any physical and non-physical barrier to travelling by air. The service provides wheelchairs, ramps, aisle chairs and ‘ambulift’ vehicles enabling level access onto the aircraft. The airport has recently invested in two new electric ambulifts to further improve the service and help the airport meet its net zero by 2038 target. The service also operates on arrival at the airport, with assistance getting off the aircraft, through border control and retrieving luggage from baggage reclaim.

East Midlands Airport’s Customer Services and Planning Director Mike Grimes said: “We’re really proud of the excellent Assisted Travel service we provide to our customers, so it’s fantastic to have that recognised by the CAA once again.

“Our close collaboration with the independent East Midlands Airport Accessibility Advisory Group, which is embedded in our governance structure, undoubtedly contributes to the success of this service. We are also sharing our knowledge and expertise with the Government’s Aviation Accessibility Task and Finish Group to help drive improvements throughout the UK aviation industry.

“We’re dedicated to giving all of our customers an effortless experience by removing all the barriers to travelling, whatever that means to each individual, and we’re pleased to frequently get praise from the people who use our Assisted Travel service.”