A man who has cerebral palsy and arthritis is taking Ryanair and the British Airports Authority (BAA) to court over the £18 he has to pay to use a wheelchair while in the queues at Stansted airport in Essex.

Bob Ross, from Islington in north London, travels frequently with the low cost airline from Stansted to Perpignan in France. Due to his illness he is unable to stand for very long, and has to pay Ryanair £18 each way to use a wheelchair when moving through the crowds and queues at Stansted.

"This is not only morally unjustifiable, but we believe it contravenes the Disability Discrimination Act," said Bert Massie, chairman of the statutory disability rights commission, yesterday.

The commission has written to both Ryanair and BAA giving them 14 days' notice of legal action, following unsuccessful negotiations. The legal action will be begun in the central London county court, seeking the removal of the £18 charge and unspecified damages.

Mr Ross said: "Unlike other airlines, I get charged £18 each way by Ryanair for the right to access the airport's wheelchairs. Given my painful arthritis, I simply must have a wheelchair at the airport.

"But every time I have taken a return flight with Ryanair from Stansted, it has cost me £36 more than other passengers. It is unfair and discriminatory to charge disabled people more to travel ."