Memorandum from British Airways (DDB 128)
Thank you for your letter of 25 March 2004 in
which you asked if British Airways would support bringing the
aviation industry promptly within the scope of the Disability
Discrimination Act (DDA).
We support fully the Government's present intention
not to make regulations bringing aviation within the scope of
the DDA. As a business which serves countries throughout the world,
we believe we would be placed at significant competitive disadvantage
were the UK Government to regulate UK airlines and not foreign
airlines that we compete with. It should also be noted that many
aspects of air travel are already covered by existing legislation,
for example, booking arrangements and airport facilities. For
the air part of the journey, voluntary practices appear to work
satisfactorily and it is difficult to see how Regulation would
improve the service we offer today.
It is our clear preference to support the UK's
voluntary code of practice—Access to Air Travel for Disabled
People. British Airways represented the UK scheduled airline sector
on the Department for Transport working group which drew up the
Code of Practice. Since then, and despite the recent and difficult
trading conditions we have faced, British Airways has been very
active in addressing the service elements of the Code which needed
attention. We understand that a Government sponsored consultant
is soon to audit airlines on their compliance with the Code. We
believe that the voluntary path should be given a chance before
legislation is considered.
I have no other comments to make on the draft
bill. Thank you for this opportunity to convey this opinion on
the Government's intention not to bring aviation into the scope
of the DDA.
James Forster
Manager Facilitation
Government and Industry Affairs
March 2004
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