TravelAbility Insider

The Intersection of Travel and Disability

Airlines

Tampa International Airport Testing Self-Driving Wheelchairs

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Line of power wheelchairs at Tampa International Airport.

Innovative power wheelchair manufacturer Whill has a new customer: the Tampa International Airport. TPA is the latest airport to trial its AI-powered mobility devices to help passengers with reduced mobility navigate throughout the terminal building.

The pilot program, which ran from mid-November through December 10th, came at an important time as maintaining the necessary staffing levels for wheelchair assistants has been challenging during the pandemic. The powered wheelchairs offered passengers greater independence than they might otherwise have received through traditional airport wheelchair assistance services.

To read more about this innovative solution, read the article from The Points Guy.

Alaska Airlines’ Dream of Becoming the Most Inclusive Airline for Everyone is Beginning to Happen

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Seattle-based Alaska Airlines recently shared an article on its blog, in which it committed to “becoming the most accessible and inclusive airline for everyone.” To highlight its commitment, the airline released a new video to celebrate National Disability Employment Awareness Month.

The company stated, “We recognize that our diversity and inclusion efforts MUST include people with disabilities to positively impact the lives of ALL our employees and passengers.” That’s a refreshing take, given how frequently disability is left out of DE&I initiatives.

“We’ve come a long way in terms of helping our employees and customers with disabilities, but we didn’t do that alone. We rely heavily on our disability partnerships to let us know where we need to go to improve,” said Ray Prentice, Director of Customer Advocacy, Alaska Airlines.

To learn more, read the story from the Alaska Airlines blog.

It’s Time for Airlines to Treat Wheelchair Users Better

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American Airlines planes at Chicago airport, city skyline visible in background.

More than 30 years after the Air Carrier Access Act became law, air travel is still fraught with barriers for disabled passengers. For Cory Lee Woodard, who has SMA (Spinal Muscular Atrophy), the horrors of flying begin anywhere from 48 to 72 hours before he arrives at the airport. This is when he starts cutting back his food and beverage intake to avoid using airplane lavatories, which don’t meet accessibility standards for wheelchair users. He always tries to tell himself that it’s going to be worth it once he gets to the destination.

Once he arrives at the destination, he’s nervously waiting to see if his wheelchair is going to work and in good condition. A quarter of the time, something is damaged.

Maybe it’s time to lobby Boeing, Airbus and the airline interior designers to provide a space on board for a wheelchair.

To read more about the experiences wheelchair users face when traveling by air, read the full article from Matador Network.

More Hearing Loops Coming to an Airport Near You

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an airport looking at arrival departure screens in waiting areas

A new accessibility policy promulgated by the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey will require the installation of hearing loops at all new and renovated airport terminals, as well as bus, train, and ferry stations.

Hearing loops are copper wires that transmit audio as electromagnetic signals, which are picked up by the telecoils or t-coils found in most hearing aids and cochlear implants. Using this technology, deaf and hard-of-hearing people can gain improved audio quality and speech recognition, ensuring they have access to import communications, including gate changes and boarding announcements in the airport environment.

Runway Girl Network reports that there are now 18 airports in the United States with some degree of hearing loop technology, including at the Sky Harbor International Airport in Phoenix.

In speaking to the new requirements, the Port Authority said that “Port Authority facilities will even better serve the diverse population of people with disabilities who rely on our services.”

OUR TAKE: Hearing loop technology dramatically improves the travel experience of many deaf and hard-of-hearing people, and we look forward to the installation of this feature in many more airports across the United States.

To read more about hearing loops and their availability in U.S. airports, see the article from Runway Girl Network.

TSA to Improve Screening for Disabled Passengers

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Black female, middle-aged wearing a blue TSA uniform.

The Transportation Security Administration is in the process of delivering new training to security officers that will equip them to better assist travelers with disabilities, including those who have difficulty communicating.

The new training instructs officers to look for designations on state identification documents, such as driver’s licenses, that denote disabilities that may impose a communication barrier on the individual. Several states have added endorsements, known as “communication impediment designations,” to licenses and identification cards to denote this fact.

Darby LaJoye, Executive Assistant Administrator for Security Operations at TSA said, “We are updating applicable trainings to ensure that all (Transportation Security Officers) are aware of communication impediment designations and expect to deliver the updated training to the TSOs as early as May 2021.”

This additional training should improve the airport security experience for disabled travelers who face difficulty in communicating with others. To learn more about this development, read the article from Disability Scoop.