Two thirds of disabled people fear they can’t travel abroad this summer

Most people take it for granted to get on a flight and go on a hot holiday abroad, but for some, it isn’t that simple.

New research has today shown that almost 64% of people and families with a disability wouldn’t want to go abroad this summer.

And this even comes after the government earlier this month published a report highlighting just how far the UK has to come to make flying more accessible for people living with a disability.

The data also shows nearly half of Brits have avoided travel abroad altogether because of ongoing accessibility issues, leaving those who are disabled feeling ‘helpless, humiliated and angry’.

This is a feeling all too familiar for disability advocate and television presenter Sophie Morgan.

She recently called for greater protections for the disabled community after the government proposed changes to the welfare system aimed at saving £5bn by the end of 2030.

Sophie was shortlisted at Metro’s Scope Awards for the Celebrity Role Model category and the TV presenter is no stranger to facing accessibility issues.

She spoke out after her £8,000 wheelchair was broken on a British Airways flight which left her in an unsafe aisle.

The Loose Women star was also held up at Heathrow airport after a ground handler refused to let her on board with a £4,000 wheelchair attachment.

She told Metro: ‘This honestly makes us feel helpless, humiliated, and angry.’

Sophie has used a wheelchair since being paralysed from the chest down after a car crash when she was 18 years old.

While Sophie checked in her wheelchair and batec (battery-powered attachment) separately on her BA flight, in transit they were attached incorrectly, which has left it unusable.

Posting about it on Instagram at the time, many other people told Sophie they had faced similar incidents when travelling, and that their chairs had been damaged or completely broken too.

She continued: ‘There’s nothing quite like sitting on a plane after everyone else has disembarked, waiting and wondering if anyone is even coming to help, or watching your wheelchair—your independence—being mishandled through a plane window.

‘These are not isolated incidents; they are happening every single day. Each time it chips away at your dignity and your trust.

‘The number one barrier is uncertainty. When you’re disabled—or travelling with someone who has accessibility needs—there are just too many unknowns.

‘Will the airline damage your mobility aid? Will you be able to use the toilet during the flight? Will the hotel have the access it claims? Most families simply don’t have the luxury of taking that risk.

‘Accessibility information is often vague, unreliable, or missing entirely, leaving us vulnerable.’

Around 20% of the UK population has an accessibility need, according to The Purple Round.

For many disabled passengers, it is the emotional and psychological impact of international travel that puts them off.

For example, accessibility issues in hotels, the booking process being challenging and problems with transport links.

Liz Williams, 51, from Brackley uses a wheelchair and regularly encounters issues when trying to travel abroad.

She said: ‘I was recently unable to attend a wedding in Cyprus with my partner as the accessibility access was not good enough.

‘There are airports and airlines that I actively avoid due to the poor treatment I have received in the past.

‘This includes early for check in and still boarding last, no aisle transfer wheelchair available, being told I could not board when all other passengers could due to adverse weather (not true as it turned out).

‘Other problems include being horrifically manhandled by special assistance, not following correct procedure, in front of a plane full of passengers which left me crying while being transferred into an airline seat.’

The Aviation Accessibility Task and Finish Group report was published this month which recommends key changes and recommendations to help improve accessibility for disabled passengers.

Talking about what needs to change, Sophie told Metro: ‘We need mandatory standards, stronger penalties, and public transparency about performance. Otherwise, it’s just more promises.

‘Disabled travellers have been waiting far too long for real change—and we deserve more than good intentions. We deserve action.’

Kamran Mallick, CEO of Disability Rights UK told Metro: ‘The freedom to travel, to explore, and to connect with the world is a basic human right.

‘These stark figures from Transreport represent millions of missed opportunities, memories never to be created, cancelled plans, and the deep-seated frustration of being excluded.

‘It is frustrating that today, in 2025, we, disabled people, continue to face this exclusion and marginalisation by the travel industry.

‘The travel industry has to move beyond token gestures and embed accessibility into the very fabric of its services.

‘True inclusion means designing for everyone from the outset, so that the right to travel is a reality for all citizens, not just a privilege for non-disabled people.’

Get in touch with our news team by emailing us at webnews@metro.co.uk.

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