New research by the UK’s national hearing loss charity, RNID, reveals that 90 per cent of respondents who are deaf or have hearing loss, and are planning at least one trip abroad in the next year, are concerned about missing important announcements and key information.
A further 58 per cent worry about communicating with cabin crew when they fly and 83 per cent would welcome the introduction of technological support for deaf people and people with hearing loss.
Virgin Atlantic is the only UK airline to offer British Sign Language (BSL) trained cabin crew and has committed to a range of initiatives designed to make the travel experience more inclusive for its passengers. These include increasing the subtitled options available on in-flight entertainment, introducing an on-demand BSL interpreter for customer service teams, ongoing BSL training, and a new Accessibility Advisory Board.
Deaf Gladiators star, Jodie Ounsley, and deaf content creators and BSL users, Hermon and Heroda Berhane shared their feedback with the airline to help improve its effectiveness. Ounsley said:
“Until recently I didn’t feel confident enough to fly on my own, but knowing that airlines like Virgin Atlantic can provide specially trained crew with the awareness and understanding to make me feel comfortable onboard is really empowering […] I can’t hear without my cochlear implant, so things like increasing the availability of accessible movies and TV will mean I can enjoy even more entertainment onboard.”
This year’s World Aviation Festival will host a dedicated Digital Accessibility Summit. The sessions will explore solutions for addressing journey pain points, standardising accessibility processes, and reframing accessibility.
Book your ticket now to learn about leveraging technology to enhance accessibility and join discussions on measuring progress, implementing immediate initiatives, and utilising passenger data for personalised experiences.
For more like this see:
- Glasgow Airport catalyses accessibility technology development
- AI robots enhance accessibility at Dublin Airport
- Accessibility trials at YVR with self-driving pods from A&K Robotics
