Airports and Airlines
Before 2022, flying was how you went on holiday. You got to the airport, checked in, went to the gate, and got on the plane. Now it involves a lot of pre-planning, adaptation, and even thinking about contingency plans for the booked assistance not materialising.
I have to book assistance as soon as I book my flight. The on-the-spot plans start as soon as you reach the airport; assistance may not be available at all, involve an indeterminate wait and an unknown distance to walk to a gate. Then there's the likelihood of repeating the process when you arrive at the other end.
Airports
My experience with airport assistance has been mixed. Larger airports, which you’d expect to have better systems, both operationally and technologically, have turned out to be worse in both ways than smaller airports. My seamless experiences were in the Bahamas and Cork in Ireland.
In Barcelona, you had to sit in a holding pen, be taken through security and put in another pen before being taken to the gate, where you were left regardless of the time left until your departure. Clearly, you weren’t allowed to get something to eat. The whole thing felt like animals being moved around a farmyard. Experiences can be anticlimactic and embarrassing. One time after arriving in London, John and I had the very unusual experience of being met by a buggy. Even stranger, we were the only two on the buggy. After 30 seconds, we were dropped in the corner of a corridor and told to “wait there”. “There” being another pen with multiple people also requiring assistance. It had the vibes of a kid’s birthday party gone wrong. After John spoke to the lady who seemed to be in charge, I decided to walk (regardless of the distance or difficulty).
Another time, when booking flights at Gatwick, the assistance never appeared for our departure or return flight. Feeling particularly frustrated, after getting home, I decided to write to customer service and give them my incredibly kind, “constructive” feedback. I received a reply saying anything to do with assistance belonged to an outsourced company. I then wrote to this company, which said Gatwick were at fault due to the deal they had with them. Obviously, accountability and apologies don’t matter.
Airlines
Disabled people will have their own unique experiences with individual airlines. I've had mixed experiences.
My first flight after I came home was with Virgin. While the assistance at Heathrow left a lot to be desired, the Virgin cabin crew were kind and never made me feel like an inconvenience, and even stored my walker in a cupboard. On another flight with British Airways, one air stewardess was incredibly thoughtful and asked completely naturally if there was anything in particular she'd be able to help me with. She was attentive throughout the flight without it feeling like it was only because of my disability. The biggest surprise has been EasyJet. I flew to Croatia with them, and the crew were friendly, helpful and said to let them know if there was anything I needed help with. All of these experiences show that airlines are capable of providing staff who are kind, courteous and inclusive.
Unfortunately, not all flights have gone well. In 2024, I went with John and my father-in-law to Barcelona with Vueling. John had included my disability and the fact that I required assistance when he booked the flights. He also managed to book seats in the front row of the plane. An issue never became apparent until we reached the boarding gate. Apparently, I wasn't allowed to sit in the front row as it was considered an emergency exit. I get it, safety matters, but maybe fix your technology so a disabled customer can book it and then have to experience an awkward, embarrassing situation at the gate. A member of the cabin crew moved me to a free seat in the second row and took my stick to put it in the overhead locker. I tried explaining I'd be happy to keep it under my feet, as I needed it to use the loo. She said no; it was for safety reasons during takeoff and landing. John was the one who had to retrieve it at the end of the flight. So, after that experience, it's clear that safety matters in a company rulebook, but the practical side doesn't.