Stansted Airport

A snowHead

I have been using this airport since the days when you rolled up, parked and walked across the grass to board a plane and I am not impressed with its most recent changes. I was travelling with my 88 year old Aunt who has limited mobility, and is visually and hearing impaired. I had booked assistance through Easy Jet at the time of booking the flights I had also emailed Stansted Customer Services for information as to where to be dropped off etc but got a barely legible response that answered none of my questions.

My son drove us to the airport using the A120. The signs directing to the 'free drop off point' now take you to a bus stop miles away from the terminal. It is not made clear on the signs that this is where you are being taken and the large number of cars who arrived at this point only to turn round to find the way back out again verified that this is not where everyone wanted to be.

We wanted to be dropped off at the terminal, to take advantage of the wheelchair assistance available to those with limited mobility, an isolated bus stop was no use what so ever. Signposting was confusing and inadequate. On arriving at the terminal we discovered that you can no longer access the road formerly used for drop offs/pick ups, but have to go into a short stay Express car park and pay £2 for 10 minutes. £50 for over 15 minutes. It was unclear how to call for wheelchair assistance and we had a long, tiring walk into the main area.

On finding the mobility assistance area we discovered large numbers of disabled travellers had been expressing their discontent with the new system since its recent implementation. We had a fair wait before being taken by a very helpful, cheerful chap through all the procedures and boarded onto the plane. He informed us a week or so earlier a passenger had been boarded onto the wrong plane by the assistance people and I got the general impression of under staffing and incompetence.

Upon our return to Stansted there were two passengers requiring assistance and I was informed there was no one available to push my Aunts wheelchair, so with an airport pusher pushing another wheelchair I pushed my Aunts. As it happened it was not too difficult but it was something I had not done before and no one bothered to check if I had a bad back or any issues that may have made this difficult for me. We were escorted through the controls but then pointed at the taxi meeting point and left to get on with it. When we got to where we had been directed we were told it was no longer the taxi collection point, only the place for valet parking, and buses. I was told by one of the valet parking staff that I needed to go down ramps and back to the express car park at which we had arrived a week earlier!

I found a 'help' button and requested assistance as I was not confident in wheeling my Aunt and our bags down any slopes. Eventually someone came and we were taken to the car park. I then had to 'phone our taxi as cabs understandably do not want to enter the express car park and incur large fees whilst waiting for passengers. It was a cold unpleasant wait.

Our taxi driver explained the difficulties for cabbies and disabled passengers created by the new scheme. Not only can you have a wait for your cab upon return it is even worse on arrival. There are apparently buttons to summons mobility help. However, it may be a long time before such help arrives and if the cabbies stay with disabled people sat in their cabs awaiting a wheelchair they incur the ridiculous £50 fee against which there is no appeal!

Now if all of the above rant sounds as if I am ungrateful for any assistance, I am not. I am cross at the general principal of paying for drop off/pick especially for the disabled but the main point I would make is the comparison in customer service between Stansted, and Geneva and Lyon airports.

We flew into Geneva airport and everything was just so efficient. Two young men collected 3 wheelchair users from our plane. Discussed with us all in sufficient English to work out our requirements and took us through all the procedures seamlessly. One young man pushed two chairs carrying a large rucksack on his back and I practically had to run to keep up with him. The two staff split up on occasions but kept in touch with walkietalkies, met after baggage collecction, swapped over a wheelchair and escorted us right to the train. Well organised, efficient procedures combined with common sense and humour!

We flew out from Lyon, we were collected right from our hotel by the assistance people, joined by another wheelchair traveller and again kept informed and never for one moment made to feel we were less than valued customers.

Stansted could learn a lot!

A snowHead

Disgruntled of Tunbridge Wells....

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Stansted Airport

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