Insulate Britain block M56 J6 island near Manchester Airport

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Colin and Dawn Kennedy said staff at Manchester Airport did “nothing to help” despite them being in a race against time to catch a flight to Florida for her 60th birthday. Instead concerned passengers helped the couple after seeing Mrs Kennedy “bump” herself down the stairs, the Manchester Evening News reported.

Mr Kennedy, 58, said: “When we were notified that boarding had commenced, we attempted to get to the second floor, obviously using the elevators.

“Unfortunately, there are only two.

“One was marked ‘out of order’ and after waiting 15 minutes for the only other working elevator, we realised it also had broken down, which obviously must have occurred after we reached the third floor.

“Airport staff were informed however no one assisted, or advised, how we should get to the departure level.”

The couple, from Belfast, were booked on an 11am Aer Lingus flight to Florida on December 27 for a holiday to celebrate Dawn’s 60th birthday.

Mrs Kennedy, 60, cannot walk or stand because of a degenerative neurological condition.

“The departure time was rapidly approaching and we had no way of getting, safely, from the third to the second floor,” her husband explained.

“Eventually, several passengers saw the distress we were in and helped me to carry my wife and her electric wheelchair down six flights of stairs to reach the departure level.

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“The airport did nothing to help. It was very distressing for my wife and they did nothing.

“My wife said she would bump herself down the stairs before the three other holidaymakers offered to help.”

The charity chief executive explained that they contacted the lounge to ask them to alert the departure gate.

He said they even walked into shops on the level to ask if they had a service lift they could use to get down.

Colin said they used the airport’s yellow customer assistance points for passengers with reduced mobility, but ‘no one was interested’.

“All we got was ‘yes, we know the lift is broken. It’s been reported’.

“Nobody was interested in assisting us and this just should not happen in this day and age.

“It’s just the poor customer service and no one really caring.

“It is very difficult for people with disabilities but, thankfully, things have moved on greatly over the years. But this was disappointing.”

After the couple complained to the airport it said it had reviewed access arrangements for passengers with restricted movement in the terminal and changes would be made.

They also said facility management company ABM was contracted to “ensure the provision of assistance to persons with reduced mobility”.

Their response did not satisfy the couple who said they hoped other disabled people are not treated the same way.

A spokesperson for Manchester Airport said: “We regret that the Kennedys did not enjoy their experience at Manchester Airport.

“Due to mechanical issues, two lifts in Terminal Two departures were out of service at the same time for a brief period on the morning of 27 December.

“Staff notified maintenance teams as soon as they became aware of this and one of the lifts was returned to service within an hour of an engineer attending. Both lifts are now back in service.

“Following feedback from the Kennedys we have reviewed access arrangements for passengers with restricted movement in Terminal Two. In the unlikely event of a recurrence, we are making alternative, accessible routes to lower-level gates available.

“Like airports across the UK, we employ a third party company to provide special assistance to passengers with restricted movement, to ensure they have the smoothest journey.

“Our provider is ABM and we’d always urge passengers to book this service in advance, which is done through their airline.”

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