The long walk to check-in: How far is too far?

LONDON: This week saw World Tourism Day and the celebration of accessible tourism.

Flight-delayed.co.uk looked at what airports and the travel industry do to help travel be more accessible.

With that in mind, we also considered some of the inaccessible airports.

Stansted airport, London, has one of the longest distances that passengers have to travel from check-in to the gate. Passengers have been warned that they will have to travel up to and over a kilometre to get to their gates.

This is a particular concern for disabled passengers and those that struggle with walking and may only need assistance on arrival at the airport.

In some cases, it could see disabled passengers miss their flights as assistance may not be provided in time.

Stansted is not alone for long distances, as other UK airports such as Manchester and Luton also have long maximum distances to travel.

The concerns have been highlighted in a report by the ABTA, the Association of British travel agents, who have warned passengers that need assistance at the airport to contact their respective travel operator or the airport directly 48 hours before their arrival.

Airports have been making improvements and have invested considerable amounts of cash, with walkways being moved, shuttle services being implemented as well as a host of other services to aid passengers on foot. However, at the larger airports, it remains a challenge to ensure that they are accessible for all.