UK airport assistance hits record as ratings rise

beehiveweb.co.uk editorial team 2026-08-04 17:07 3 min read

A traveler looking at flight information screens in a busy UK airport terminal.

By the Beehive Web News Desk | Reporting from the UK Civil Aviation Authority’s 2025/26 assessment

A record 5.9 million passengers used assistance services and facilities at UK airports in 2025, as demand continued to grow much faster than overall passenger numbers.

The UK Civil Aviation Authority rated all 28 airports in its latest assessment either “very good” or “good”. Nineteen secured the highest rating, while none was placed in the “Needs Improvement” or “Poor” categories.

Those results show broad progress, but they do not mean disabled passengers now experience barrier-free journeys. The regulator’s consumer survey found lower satisfaction among passengers with accessibility or disability needs, and more than half reported difficulties with airports or flying.

Assistance demand has more than doubled in a decade

Requests for airport assistance have risen by 115.8% since 2015. Overall passenger numbers increased by 23.9% over the same period, meaning assistance demand grew nearly five times as quickly.

That gap places pressure on the staff, equipment and facilities used to support disabled passengers and passengers with reduced mobility. Common needs reported by disabled consumers involved walking, standing and carrying luggage.

Overall satisfaction with air travel reached 88%, the highest level recorded since the Aviation Consumer Survey began in 2016. Satisfaction among passengers with accessibility or disability needs was lower at 82%, while 58% of disabled consumers said they had encountered difficulties accessing or using airports and flying.

Nineteen UK airports receive the highest rating

The Airport Accessibility Report 2025/26 divided the 28 assessed airports into two ratings:

UK airport assistance hits record as ratings rise

Rating	Airports
Very good	Aberdeen, Belfast City, Belfast International, Bournemouth, Bristol, Cardiff, Cornwall Newquay, East Midlands, Edinburgh, Exeter, Liverpool, London City, London Luton, London Gatwick, London Southend, Manchester, Newcastle, Southampton and Teesside
Good	Birmingham, City of Derry, Glasgow, Glasgow Prestwick, Inverness, Leeds Bradford, London Heathrow, London Stansted and Norwich

An airport’s rating is an overall assessment rather than a guarantee about every passenger’s experience. The framework considers performance against waiting-time targets for arriving and departing passengers, the accuracy of supporting data, surveys of assistance users and consultation through accessibility forums.

Ratings have improved since the framework began

The regulator introduced its Airport Accessibility Performance Framework in 2014. At that point, 13 airports were rated either “Poor” or “Needs Improvement”. A decade of oversight, staff training and investment worth millions of pounds has been accompanied by higher ratings across the assessed airports.

For the latest report, the Civil Aviation Authority examined airports handling more than 150,000 passengers during the 2025 calendar year. The performance period ran from April 2025 to March 2026.

Regulator teams also visited 16 of the largest UK airports and observed assistance provided around 1,400 flights. More detailed accessibility assessments were conducted at Bristol, Cardiff, Edinburgh, Glasgow Prestwick and Liverpool.

Passenger experience remains the harder test

Anna Bowles, the Civil Aviation Authority’s Head of Consumer Protection, described the absence of any airport in the two lowest categories as welcome but warned that the industry “cannot be complacent”. She said rising demand would require airports to keep investing in assistance services.

The regulator plans to consult on a revised version of its accessibility framework later in 2026. It has also pointed to the Civil Aviation Bill before Parliament, which would give it additional enforcement powers if approved, including greater scope to hold airports accountable for passengers’ legal rights.

Source: UK Civil Aviation Authority News

Context & actions About this article

Source check Source trail

The ratings, passenger figures and methodology were checked against the UK aviation regulator’s published report summary.

Checks

Confirmed the record figure of 5.9 million passengers using assistance services in 2025.
Checked the ratings assigned to all 28 airports in the assessment.
Compared the reported 115.8% growth in assistance requests with 23.
Distinguished airport ratings from the separate passenger satisfaction and reported-diffic...

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