The problems that you had at Gatwick do seem to be typically British. We now seem incapable of providing any kind of service with courtesy. It is not just the disabled that suffer, people do not seem to take responsibility seriously.

It is sad that we do not look after our own. I took my elderly Dad to Portugal and everywhere we went the Portuguese were really nice to him. BA tolerated him and tolerated me.

A lot of this could come down to poor training/management and low pay and staff working long hours, although this is still no excuse for bad customer service. Airport staff seem to have low moral.
Most other countries seem to get customer service right, why can't we?

You would think that service for disabled travellers would be standard/consistent by now. Regulations have been around for two decades or so now, it saddens me the lack of care some aircraft staff have for the disabled.

I think this poor treatment problem applies to all travellers, not just the disabled. Airports will need to be extra nice and civil to us in the future, with the price of plane tickets surely escalating after the ash crisis.

I did a flight to the USA with my disabled mother in March and Virgin were very caring and helpful. It did not all go smoothly but the level of care and support was just great.
Gatwick probably is not set up for disabled people (too many crowds, too few facilities etc). Aircraft are also not designed for disabled people (too narrow, too full etc).
The only real positive was the personal care of the Virgin staff. They really tried although they must get dispirited with the limited facilities with which they have to work. In the end, it comes down to personalities. The Virgin team were just nice people who seemed to want to do a god job.

Gatwick airport as far a I am aware is reasonably well equipped for disabled people and those needing special assistance. Both the North and South Terminals have ramps, wider access pathways, telephones at a height accessible to wheelchair users, disabled toilet facilities and reserved seating for disabled people in check-in areas. It seems just the staff can be intolerant at times.

UK airports have a particular vehicle that they use for transporting the disabled person and their family between the main terminal area and the gate. It is driven along making a frequent beeping noise. This is obviously to warn people that the vehicle is coming (or perhaps that the driver is visually challenged).
Sadly, what the beeping noise does is to make everybody turn and look at its embarrassed passengers. I do wonder whether we could find a better solution.

Unfortunatley I think the level of customer care at Gatwick is terrible. I have a Sister with a disabilty and because it is not visable she felt that the staff made her feel as though she was playing on it to get a better service. They were aloof and unhelpful when boarding the aircraft, shame on them.

Disability's come in all shapes and forms, and it is disgraceful how sometimes they get overlooked, I think we need to show more compassion in this country, something we seem to lack at times.

Once again its seem's this country lets down the people that matter. Regardless of ability we are all paying customers and it is so infuriating that basic customer service can not be met.