Aer Rianta has warned airlines and other service providers at Dublin, Cork and Shannon airports they will be refused permission to continue to operate if they are found to discriminate against passengers with disabilities.
Under a by-law announced yesterday, all airport service providers are obliged "to do all that is reasonable to accommodate the needs of persons with a disability by providing special treatment or facilities".
A spokesman for Aer Rianta said the move was in response to numerous complaints from passengers with disabilities, many of which were against Ryanair, with which the State company is engaged in a long-running dispute over landing charges.
The spokesman stressed, however, that the by-law was targeted at more than one service provider.
"This covers everyone from car hire businesses to the bars and restaurants," he said. "There are no financial penalties but we will be able to refuse to enter into contract or leasing arrangements unless it is complied with."
Ryanair has been strongly criticised by passengers with disabilities for being the only airline not to provide free wheelchairs to those who need them to get to departure gates.
Ryanair's head of communications, Ms Ethel Power, said the company did not charge wheelchair-users for lifting them on and off planes, a cost which often exceeded the passenger fare. Effectively, she said, the company "flies thousands of passengers with disabilities free each year".
She rejected the claim which had previously been made by Aer Rianta that the company sometimes refused to take passengers with disabilities.
"We operate within regulations that allow a maximum of four wheelchairs per aircraft. The wheelchair passengers who fly regularly with us will vouch for the fact that if it was not for us they would not be able to afford to travel."
Mr Donal Toolan, chairman of the Forum of People with Disabilities, welcomed the by-law, although he said he had reservations about its emphasis on "special treatment" for disabled passengers. "What's needed is not necessarily special treatment but rather an ability to be able to cater for diverse customer needs."
He said one of the biggest areas of concern among wheelchair-users was the absence of a designated service to take them to and from aircraft. At present, the function was carried out by Aer Rianta's airport police fire service, which Mr Toolan said was "inappropriate", as it was often unavailable at short notice, leading to long delays for passengers.
He welcomed the focus on other services, such as car-hire firms, which had been the source of numerous complaints from people with disabilities.
