Disability Discrimination Act policy for BAA

Policy overview
The Disability Discrimination Act 1995 ( DDA ) was passed to end the discrimination faced by many disabled people in the areas of employment, education and access to goods, facilities, services and premises. Now regulations made under the DDA 2005 have also brought means of transport (excluding aircraft and shipping ) within its scope.

BAA’s aim is to provide an inclusive and accessible environment for all by proactively fulfilling our obligations under the DDA and any associated UK and European Union legislation.

Governance and commitment
This policy has been endorsed by our Corporate Responsibility Board and Executive Committee and is sponsored by the Divisional Managing Director. The policy is implemented by the Managing Director at each airport. It has been communicated throughout the company with every business unit accountable for implementation.

Consultation
We will consult with organisations representing disabled people in order to deliver best practice in our services and facilities.

We have been implementing our policy of Easy Access for All with the help of the Disabled Persons’ Transport Advisory Committee, (DPTAC), which advises government on all transport matters affecting disabled people. BAA is an industry representative at DPTAC’s Aviation Group which includes DPTAC members with experience in considering the needs of  disabled people in relation to air travel. We were a member of the Department for Transport’s working group which produced the Code of Practice for Access to Air Travel for Disabled People and currently sit on the steering group assessing the aviation industry’s response to the Code. We are also a member of the Employers Forum on Disability and a member of the British Standards Committee working on a revised edition of BS 8300 – Design of buildings and their approaches to meet the needs of disabled people.

Accessible infrastructure/facilities and premises
We will take all reasonable steps to provide easy access for all our   customers to our buildings and our facilities.

Our Accessible Airports Design Standard contains best practice advice on how to achieve an inclusive airport environment. It provides an overview of airport facilities and highlights key access issues because easy access airports require a particular mindset as well as a set of specifications. All our designers, architects, development managers and project leaders will follow this Standard which also includes an access checklist. We will conduct regular access audits and will make appropriate accessibility improvements to  the physical environment or our service provision in response to audit recommendations.   

Training and awareness
We will provide disability awareness training for our customer facing staff and raise awareness of accessibility issues throughout the company.

Accessible buildings and facilities are important in achieving access but staff attitude and awareness also have a vital role to play. We provide staff disability awareness training with a focus on the training of front line staff, particularly security staff, as all travellers will encounter the security process. We have produced a new edition of our training video to ensure that staff have the confidence and knowledge to assist our disabled customers, offering the right help, in the right way at the right time.

Additionally, we provide  information for staff on DDA policy and accessibility issues within BAA.

Special assistance
We will ensure that special assistance is available at our airports to enable access to air travel for disabled people.

Current responsibility for this service is shared between airports and airlines with BAA providing assistance to reach check-in and from baggage reclaim to point of onward travel. In a case brought under the DDA, The Court of Appeal has determined that BAA also has a responsibility to ensure that airlines handling disabled passengers through BAA facilities do so without discrimination. By July 2008, however, as a result of European legislation we will be taking on the organisation and provision of special assistance at our airports. In the meantime we will continue to work with airlines, handling agents and special assistance companies to deliver a good quality of assistance service to disabled people.

Accessible information
We will communicate information about our company, services and facilities in ways that are accessible to all our customers.

We have re-developed our website to improve its ease of use for disabled people including those with visual, hearing, cognitive and motor impairments. The site was built in consultation with AbilityNet, a body of website experts brought together by the Foundation for Communication for the Disabled and the Computability Centre – both leading charities working in the field of assistive technology for disabled people. The website contains details of the facilities and assistance available at each BAA airport.

All literature will contain a prominent statement referring to the availability of alternative formats upon request.

Market research
We will research the requirements and preferences of our disabled customers to better understand how we can meet their needs.

We conduct regular passenger surveys into the quality of the services and facilities provided at our airports. In addition we will undertake specific  research involving  disabled passengers in order to understand their experiences at our airports.  In this way and through customer feedback we will monitor the effectiveness of our DDA Policy and take all reasonable steps to make service and facility improvements.

Equal Opportunity policy
We will ensure equal opportunities in recruitment and employment.
 
We value our diverse workforce. Our recruitment process allows people with disabilities to have fair and equal access to employment opportunities. We will make reasonable adaptations and adjustments to roles and environments to accommodate disabled applicants and for staff who become disabled while employed by BAA. Any acts of disability discrimination will be addressed through existing codes of conduct.

Working with business partners
We will encourage business partners to adopt similar policies and to raise awareness of disability matters.

We work closely with our airline colleagues and airport concessionaires to support them in  delivering high levels of customer service for disabled travellers. We have produced a version of our disability awareness video for airport retailers and caterers  to encourage appropriate training in this area.