A report analysing UK airports’ accessibility for people with disabilities and mobility restrictions has been published by the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) – and is endorsed by a key player in dementia care from the University of Plymouth.
The Prime Minister’s Dementia Challenge Group for Air transport, chaired by Ian Sherriff, Academic Partnership Lead for Dementia, fully supports the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) report to highlight the performance of 30 UK airports.
The report commended six airports as very good, 20 as good and four as poor, and Ian is now working with one of the airports categorised as poor, and advising how they can take steps to improve.
By working together, the Prime Minister’s Dementia Challenge Group for Air transport seeks to improve flight experiences and enable people living with dementia and their carers to continue to fly for as long as possible in an inclusive environment.
Ian said:
“As someone who is totally committed to helping society tackle the many challenges that people with dementia and their carers face daily, I am keen to see airports do as much as they can to make the airport and travelling experience as stress-free as possible.
"It’s great that there were a significant number of airports that the CAA classified as ‘very good’ and ‘good’, and for those airports that don’t have the necessary support in place, the CAA will be offering collaborative help and support to make flying as accessible and pleasant as possible for those with additional needs.”
The Prime Minister’s Dementia Challenge Group for Air transport involves collaboration from people with dementia and their carers; health professionals; the aviation industry; MPs; airlines; CAA legal and security advisors; and also includes University academics Dr Alison Warren, Lecturer in Occupational Therapy; Dr Alexis Kirke, Senior Research Fellow; Dr Val Mann, Associate Professor in Molecular Cell Biology, and research students.