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BAA told to pay up for wheelchair assistance
By Paul Marston, Transport Correspondent
(Filed: 22/12/2004)

The airports company BAA was found guilty of discrimination against disabled passengers yesterday and ordered to pay a half share of the cost of providing wheelchair assistance at Stansted.

Bob Ross was made to pay for the use of a wheelchair
The Court of Appeal overturned a county court decision that the no-frills airline Ryanair should bear the whole £18 charge, and said the two companies should also split the £1,336 compensation awarded at an earlier hearing to a cerebral palsy sufferer, Bob Ross, who was made to pay for a wheelchair before taking a flight to France last year.

Ryanair is the biggest airline at Stansted but one of only two to refuse to reimburse BAA for wheelchair aid for the half-mile journey from check-in desk to departure gate. The Irish carrier said that the cost was nearly double the £10 pre-tax price of Mr Ross's flight to Perpignan, and argued that airport owners took responsibility for wheelchair fees at 87 of the 93 airports to which it flew.

Two of the remaining five exceptions, Gatwick and Edinburgh, are also run by BAA, which made profits of £540 million last year against Ryanair's £150 million.

Lord Justice Brooke ruled that Stansted Airport Ltd, a subsidiary of BAA, and Ryan-air were equally responsible and both guilty of breaching the Disability Discrimination Act. He said that Stansted's liabilty in the case arose "because they failed to recognise that they had important responsibilities under the Act which simply were not being fulfilled by anyone once Ryan-air had decided to break away from the industry's customary practice in their pursuit of a cheaper service for their clientele''.

Outside the court, the airline said that it would halve the 50p "wheelchair levy" introduced on all fares after the original hearing in January. A spokesman said the ruling "vindicated" the decision to appeal. He added: "Ryanair will continue to lower the cost of air travel for all passengers and it is not unreasonable that the very rich owners of terminal buildings such as BAA Stansted should be responsible for providing free wheelchair access.''

The airport operator apologised to Mr Ross for not doing more to prevent the unfair treatment. It said it would take steps to ensure all airlines treated passengers with reduced mobility equally with all other customers. The Disability Rights Commission, which helped Mr Ross bring the case, said the decision signals that "disabled people will no longer put up with a second-class service".

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