A study conducted by a consumer watchdog has found that some passengers with disabilities are not getting an adequate amount of help when they visit UK airports. The report, compiled by Which? Travel, found that one passenger who was blind was separated by security from he guide dog and another was abandoned by staff at the airport for an hour-and-a-half.

Both passengers said that, although they were perfectly capable of walking, airport staff had asked them if they needed wheelchair assistance. Another passenger, who would have appreciated such assistance, claimed that he was abandoned in the cold for some time before finally being helped onto his flight.

Both blind passengers said that they were worried about the level of care given by staff to their guide dogs. One claimed that the dog was not allowed to go to the toilet prior to boarding and the other said the dog had not been offered any water.

Among the other concerns from disabled Which? Travel members were complaints that UK airport staff had left them feeling abandoned, humiliated or had passed them around like they were packages. Of the 1,499 members of Which? Travel who responded to the survey, 70 per cent claimed to be satisfied with their overall experience. However, more than 9 per cent said they were not.

Which? Travel’s head of research, Rochelle Turner, said a change was needed in how staff are trained to deal with disabled passengers so that they were not left feeling humiliated, distressed or abandoned.