Wheelchair users to benefit from new service at Aberdeen Airport
Travelling through Aberdeen Airport has become easier for NHS patients and passengers requiring extra assistance thanks to a new service launched on Monday.
BAA Aberdeen and Loganair recently finished work on a new reception area in the terminal for people needing help, including patients, wheelchair users and those with sight or hearing problems.
The desk will be permanently manned to help passengers with reduced mobility between the point of check in and boarding. It will provide users and their companions with a central meeting point to co-ordinate the movement of those being assisted through the terminal.
The area will be well signposted and include low level screens displaying flight information. In conjunction with this, the airport has invested a second ambulift vehicle to help passengers onto the aircraft.
BAA Aberdeen terminal services manager Fraser Bain said: “This is a major investment, designed to make it easier for people to travel through our terminal.
“Many NHS patients from the Northern Isles need to come to Aberdeen regularly for vital treatment, and we are committed to making their journey as smooth and quick as possible.” Loganair chief executive David Harrison said: “We are delighted to have worked with Aberdeen Airport to develop this new facility. It is a positive step that will enhance the passenger experience.”
Aberdeen South MP and wheelchair user Anne Begg, a regular passenger through Aberdeen Airport for her weekly trips to Westminster, welcomed the investment as a “really good initiative”.
She said: “When someone who has a disability comes into a new airport, it can be difficult to know what to do and where to go. For that reason this dedicated desk must be a good thing, which will make life easier and less stressful.”
