A CCESSIB ILIT Y
passengers during the
process that is undignified”
often have barriers, including armrests, doors and
shrouding, which prevent a safe assisted transfer. It is
unclear how these seats passed certification, given
requirements by the US Department of Transportation
for access.
chair to the aisle chair, then from the aisle chair to their
allotted seat,” says FlyingDisabled’s Chris Wood. “This
is perhaps the most undignified process of the journey.
These people are supposed to be boarded first; however,
this is so often not the case and they are paraded up the
“Wheelchair users are typically transferred from their
aisle in front of everyone. The main cause of this is poor
procedures and/or pursuit of speedy turnaround times.
It’s the manhandling of passengers during the process that
is undignified – female passengers often find this a huge
personal intrusion.”
The special orientations and briefings from cabin crew
for passengers with disabilities or reduced mobility are
often skipped, rushed or incomplete. Justin Yarbrough,
who is blind and works as an accessibility specialist
in education, outlines his boarding process: “I
always ask for preboarding. The general boarding
experience is kind of a circus to me and I get a bit
of sensory overload, so it’s just easier to be one
of the first to get on and get settled into my seat.
I may have to ask for assistance locating my seat,
which I’ve never had a problem getting.”
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032 NOVEMBER 2019
Continues Yarbrough, “I’ll settle my guide dog at my
feet so he’s mostly laying under the seat in front of me.
If I’m not travelling with him for any reason I settle in
like normal. Cabin crew are supposed to give me an
individual safety briefing before takeoff because of my
disability, but that doesn’t always happen. During the
briefing, the crew member will often also orient me
with the area around my seat.”
used haven’t offered audio description,” says
Yarbrough. “I’m hopeful more airlines will
adopt accessible systems like the system
on United’s B787s.”
Positive messages did come through
when researching this article though:
the use of airline apps for booking and
management is helpful, especially for
the blind and partially sighted, thanks to
the accessibility options built into tablets
and smartphones. Some airlines are also
leaders, with Virgin Atlantic praised for
its excellent accessibility team.
But more needs to be done, not just
because it is required by law and the right
thing to do, but because if airlines and
airports do not pull their socks up on their
own then increasingly lobbied politicians
and regulators will do it for them.
“ It’s the manhandling of
Researchers at Cranfield University in the UK
have created a virtual airport environment to
study and improve the air travel experience
for passengers with additional mobility
needs. The virtual airport, one of the first
of its kind, will be used to conduct research
as part of the Passenger Experience lab in
the new £67m Digital Aviation Research
and Technology Centre (DARTeC), currently
under construction at Cranfield. The 3D
environment can be configured to replicate
different design layouts, ambient conditions
During flight, lavatory access is a major problem.
With no regulations requiring accessible lavs on
narrow-body aircraft, which are now being designed
to fly 10 or more hours, there is a clear loophole to
the rules that must be closed by safety regulators.
“Access to lavatories continues to be a challenge for
passengers who are not independently mobile,” says
Morris, noting that “the designs of accessible lavatories
vary considerably, and larger facilities are necessary.”
Accessible IFE systems are disappointingly absent
as well, with progress on standards unacceptably slow
to many from the disability community.
“I don’t use IFE since the systems are generally not
accessible to me, and the streaming options I’ve
and levels of activity within a bespoke or
simulated real world airport.
One of the first uses of the environment
will be to help improve wayfinding and
navigation provision for passengers with
additional mobility needs, including those
with unseen disabilities.
Dr Thomas Budd, lecturer in airport
planning at Cranfield and head of the lab,
explains, “For passengers with additional
mobility needs, navigating a busy airport
can be an especially tiring and stressful
experience. Using immersive technologies
in this way enables us to experiment with
different designs and new technologies to
improve the passenger experience in a way
that is safe, and time and cost efficient.”
/aircraftinteriorsinternational.com