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Melbourne Airport will roll out a network of “mobility hubs” across the terminals following a successful trial in 2024.
Run in conjunction with not-for-profit Travellers Aid, the Melbourne Airport Assist service will provide buggies and powered wheelchairs to help travellers with disabilities navigate the airport, and will run seven days a week between 6am and 10pm starting next month.
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“This service will help connect our car parks with the terminals and the terminals with each other, providing travellers with help wherever they need it in their airport journeys,” said Melbourne Airport CEO Lorie Argus, who says accessibility is a “key focus”.
“Travellers Aid has extensive experience in this sector and we’ve been able to incorporate some important lessons from last year’s trial.
“Millions of passengers come through our doors each year and each has varying needs, so this service is designed to provide them with dignity, independence and care.
“This is a long-term investment in accessibility at Melbourne Airport and has been designed to extend to and from our new pick-up and drop-off areas when they open later next year.”
The announcement comes amid a broader focus on disability access in aviation, with the ABC recently reporting on a number of passengers who have been impacted by accessibility issues.
A spokesperson for Transport Minister Catherine King said the minister has attended a co-design workshop on accessibility standards in recent weeks, and is “determined to act and improve outcomes in this space”.
“Thanks to the invaluable contributions of the participants at the workshops, we will continue developing the new Aviation Disability Standards to improve the experience of air travel for people with disability. We are aiming to finalise the new standards in 2026,” the spokesperson said.
In last year’s Aviation White Paper, the federal government laid out plans to improve disability access at airports, including new aviation-specific disability standards.
Announcing the paper, Minister King said passengers with disabilities have had to endure “poor service, inaccessible designs and rules that limit their travel options”.
“Through our consultation, we heard clearly that the treatment of people with disability by the airlines and airports is not good enough,” she said at the time.
“People have been left stranded on planes, forced to return to their departure port or had to put up with poor treatment due to a lack of access to appropriate facilities at their destination.
“The Albanese government is strengthening the rights of people with disability while travelling, as well as enforcing stricter compliance with existing obligations.”
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