Travel with Children - Stroller/Buggies gate repatriation at major UK airports

I trust those of you who travel by air with your kids may have come across situations where you were not returned your strollers or buggies at the aircraft, rather had to carry your little ones all the way to the baggage reclaim hall.

I believe this is a barbaric situation, unfortunately very common at London Heathrow and London Gatwick (although some airlines at these airports do provide gate repatriation service).

I understand the UK CAA would like to see children falling under the scope of the EU regulation covering passengers with reduced mobility.

However, I learned yesterday that the EDF (European Disability Forum) sent a letter to the Vice President of the European Commission to exclude children and other vulnerable categories from the scope of the regulation.

I wrote today in my blog:

"In a devastating blow to families traveling with infants, toddlers and young children, the European Disability Forum sent a letter to the EU Transport Commissioner Siim Kallas asking the EU Commission to sacrifice elderly persons, children, obese persons and pregnant women and any other adult without disabilities, eliminating them from the scope and protection of Regulation EU 1107/2006."

While I am clearly pro ensuring the disabled have access to good services when traveling by air, I totally disagree with EDF on this point.

Speaking to a manager at the Civil Aviation Authority, he lamented that parents associations are silent on the issue.

I believe FlyerTalk should consider this issue, possibly writing a letter to the CAA or the EU Transport Commissioner, remarking the need to grant children PRM status, so that national enforcement bodies will have the power to ensure gate repatriation service becomes the standard at all UK and EU airports.

Time is running out.

I worked at London Heathrow for 6 years (total 13 years flying). The problem we had at all airports were that often families were shorted out because staff was needed to handle passengers with disabilities.

I'm actually supportive of this because we parents choose to procreate (usually :D) but the person with the disability almost always arrived at their condition involuntarily. Yes, they should have, and deserve, priority.

This sounds similar to the Americans With Disabilities Act that came into force while I was still flying. We had to change quite a few things BUT returning the strollers to the jetway continued.

I think that the only "aid" parents should ask for is the return of children's mobility devices to the door of the plane. I don't think one should cancel out the other.

By all means, those of you who fly out of U.K. airports (especially those of you who live there), write and complain but please be sensitive to the needs of those with disabilities.

P.S. How about providing an address to write to?