EU guarantees easier travel to disabled and elderly

EU regulations came into force on Saturday guaranteeing easier access at EU airports to disabled persons and the elderly.

According to new rules, airlines and airports in the EU will no longer be able to charge extra for providing wheelchairs and other services to disabled and elderly people.

This new "free" service will, however, come at a cost for passengers using EU airports, including Maltese passengers.

The Malta International Airport (MIA) introduced the service at the beginning of this month at a charge of €0.46 on every passenger passing through the airport independently of who is using the new service or not. This was in line with the same EU regulation that allows such a "burden sharing" mechanism.

According to estimates worked out by The Times, the new charge will give MIA and the ground handlers operating the system an extra income of €687,000 a year. MIA management says this will only cover the cost of the new service.

MIA had said it invested €65,000 to upgrade its infrastructure according to the new rules. The service will be used by about 4,500 passengers in the first six months of operation. This puts the cost for every person using this "free" service at €76 per passenger.

MIA, which during the first six months of the year posted a post-tax profit of €3.3 million, is insisting that the service will not result in a profit for the company but will only cover the cost involved in upgrading the infrastructure and the running of the service.

"I can assure you that MIA will be losing money and not making a profit on this service," an MIA spokesman insisted with The Times yesterday when asked how the company will ensure the system is transparent and not leading to a profit out of a law that is aimed at helping disabled people.

"We will be publishing the costings of this new system according to the law at the end of its first year of operation and we are also subject to regular audits by the Civil Aviation Department, which is our regulator. This assures transparency," the spokesman added.

At the same time, the spokesman specified that MIA will be adjusting the new charge according to its actual cost. "If we make a profit, the charge will go down. If we make a loss, we will have to increase the charge," MIA said.

The new EU rules will enforce all provisions of a regulation agreed in 2006 on the rights of people with "reduced mobility".

Since last year, air carriers have been prohibited from refusing to carry persons on grounds that they were disabled.

If an airline breaches the rules, member states can impose "effective, proportionate and dissuasive" penalties, as long as they inform the Commission.

About 127 million European citizens with reduced mobility will be affected by the new rules, which also apply to non-EU citizens travelling in and out of Europe.