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New air travel accessibility task force lead by Tanni Grey-Thompson

Rosie_Scope

Has anyone seen this on the news today?

Paralympian leads effort to improve travel for disabled people - BBC News

Baroness Tanni Grey-Thompson will be leading a team to improve accessibility in air travel "from booking to baggage claim". The Aviation Accessibility Task and Finish Group will be "holding airlines to account" and working with the air travel industry to ensure more disabled people can travel with confidence.

I've read so many stories of wheelchairs or important equipment being lost or broken during air travel. Many disabled people struggle to get the assistance they need to get on or off their flights, and it's horrible to think that in 2024 some people can't even access the toilets while on board certain airlines.

For me, this feels like a move in the right direction. It's refreshing to see a team lead by someone who will know exactly what it's like to face these barriers, so I hope it does bring around some change. It would be good to see a similar thing happen with trains and other forms of transport too.

I know many of you have had some tough experiences on planes, so it would be interesting to hear your thoughts.

What do you think about the plans? Do you think they'll be able to achieve what they're setting out to do?

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Comments

Siwheels73

Having met Dame Tanni in person, I can say from experience that she is as far apart from the average Disabled person, as the moon is from the Earth. She is one of the most unfriendly, unhelpful people I have ever had the misfortune to meet. Our meeting was full of "me, myself and I" from her.
Personally, I would have thought that someone such as Frank Gardiner, the Broadcaster who has documented a series of Airline and Airport issues would have been a much better choice to lead this important work.

Rosie_Scope

That's interesting to hear @Siwheels73, I've not met anyone who's had any contact with her before. I hope she'll still be able to do a good job of it.

And you're right, Frank Gardiner would be a great choice too and would probably be able to drum up some support within his journalism network. We'll see what happens!