City of Derry Airport has outranked Heathrow in a new survey on disabled access in airports

City of Derry Airport has outranked Heathrow in a new survey on disabled access in airports.

The Civil Aviation Authority surveyed airport across Britain and Northern Ireland and gave City of Derry Airport a 'good' ranking, while airports including Heathrow and Manchester were described as having 'poor' disabled access.

The survey ranked the top 30 airports in the UK on the quality of assistance they offered passengers with a disability.

It found that more and more people are travelling with a disability each year, with over three million journeys last year. This figure has risen by 66% since 2010.

“UK aviation should be proud that it continues to serve a rapid increase in the number of passengers with a disability," said Richard Moriarty, CAA Director of Consumers and Markets.

"Our surveys, along with the airports’ own studies, have shown high levels of satisfaction among disabled passengers and we have seen some examples of excellent service where assistance is well organised and delays are minimal.

"However, East Midlands, Exeter, Heathrow and Manchester have fallen short of our expectations and we have secured commitments from them to make improvements.”