Assisted Travel service supporting EMA’s customers gets top national rating
The Assisted Travel service which helps people to enjoy an effortless experience at East Midlands Airport (EMA) has been given the top rating by the UK Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) for the fifth year running.
EMA has been rated ‘very good’ by the CAA in its latest report on airport accessibility published today (August 7th). The CAA established its Airport Accessibility Framework a decade ago, setting standards for how passengers with disabilities and reduced mobility should be treated. In today’s report, the CAA highlights EMA for carrying out customer satisfaction surveys which show high levels of responses and a ‘very good’ rating for scores for both arriving and departing passenger journeys.
EMA’s Assisted Travel service is provided by a 70-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. In 2023 it helped more than 71,000 EMA customers on their journey through the airport.
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. It also gives passengers access to quiet rooms, priority boarding and green lanyards to discreetly flag to staff that customers may need more time and attention.
Customers who wish to make use of the service are encouraged to book via their airline at least 48 hours in advance – but if anyone feels they need extra help when they turn up on the day, the team will do all they can to accommodate them. There is a help desk in the check-in hall and waiting areas set aside for Assisted Travel customers throughout the terminal. The service also operates on arrival at EMA, with assistance getting off the aircraft, through border control and retrieving luggage from baggage reclaim.
EMA’s Assisted Travel team works with an independently chaired Accessibility Forum of disabled people who advise on customer experience, infrastructure and recruitment, helping to shape the service. There has been recent investment in mobility scooters and new ambulift vehicles, including the first electric model due to arrive in September.
As well as gaining the top score from the Civil Aviation Authority, EMA’s Assisted Travel service is also highly rated by the customers who use it – with 96% rating it ‘Good’ or ‘Very Good’ in the 2023/24 satisfaction survey.
EMA’s Customer Services and Planning Director Mike Grimes said: “We’re delighted to have once again received recognition from the CAA that our Assisted Travel service is among the best in the country.
“At East Midlands Airport, we’re dedicated to giving our customers an effortless experience and top marks from the CAA for the fifth year in a row shows we’re serious about ensuring that our airport is welcoming to everybody. Our approach is to remove all the barriers to travelling, whatever that means to each individual.
“Most of all, we’re pleased that the customers who use our Assisted Travel service overwhelmingly tell us they are very happy with it. However, we will continue to listen to them and our Accessibility Forum to look at ways to bring further improvements to the service.”
Assisted Travel team member Viktorija Dainiute said: “Assisting passengers, helping them throughout the airport, lending them a hand if needed, makes it very rewarding – it’s a job that puts a smile on your face. It’s nice to get feedback from passengers saying you’ve done a good job, and well done EMA for getting top marks from the CAA, it’s thanks to every staff member doing a great job.”
Full details o
The Assisted Travel service which helps people to enjoy an effortless experience at East Midlands Airport (EMA) has been given the top rating by the UK Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) for the fifth year running.
EMA has been rated ‘very good’ by the CAA in its latest report on airport accessibility published today (August 7th). The CAA established its Airport Accessibility Framework a decade ago, setting standards for how passengers with disabilities and reduced mobility should be treated. In today’s report, the CAA highlights EMA for carrying out customer satisfaction surveys which show high levels of responses and a ‘very good’ rating for scores for both arriving and departing passenger journeys.
EMA’s Assisted Travel service is provided by a 70-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. In 2023 it helped more than 71,000 EMA customers on their journey through the airport.
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. It also gives passengers access to quiet rooms, priority boarding and green lanyards to discreetly flag to staff that customers may need more time and attention.
Customers who wish to make use of the service are encouraged to book via their airline at least 48 hours in advance – but if anyone feels they need extra help when they turn up on the day, the team will do all they can to accommodate them. There is a help desk in the check-in hall and waiting areas set aside for Assisted Travel customers throughout the terminal. The service also operates on arrival at EMA, with assistance getting off the aircraft, through border control and retrieving luggage from baggage reclaim.
EMA’s Assisted Travel team works with an independently chaired Accessibility Forum of disabled people who advise on customer experience, infrastructure and recruitment, helping to shape the service. There has been recent investment in mobility scooters and new ambulift vehicles, including the first electric model due to arrive in September.
As well as gaining the top score from the Civil Aviation Authority, EMA’s Assisted Travel service is also highly rated by the customers who use it – with 96% rating it ‘Good’ or ‘Very Good’ in the 2023/24 satisfaction survey.
EMA’s Customer Services and Planning Director Mike Grimes said: “We’re delighted to have once again received recognition from the CAA that our Assisted Travel service is among the best in the country.
“At East Midlands Airport, we’re dedicated to giving our customers an effortless experience and top marks from the CAA for the fifth year in a row shows we’re serious about ensuring that our airport is welcoming to everybody. Our approach is to remove all the barriers to travelling, whatever that means to each individual.
“Most of all, we’re pleased that the customers who use our Assisted Travel service overwhelmingly tell us they are very happy with it. However, we will continue to listen to them and our Accessibility Forum to look at ways to bring further improvements to the service.”
Assisted Travel team member Viktorija Dainiute said: “Assisting passengers, helping them throughout the airport, lending them a hand if needed, makes it very rewarding – it’s a job that puts a smile on your face. It’s nice to get feedback from passengers saying you’ve done a good job, and well done EMA for getting top marks from the CAA, it’s thanks to every staff member doing a great job.”
Full details o
