Innovative Solutions to Facilitate Accessibility for Airport Travelers with Disabilities (2020) / Chapter Skim
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Pages 61-87
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61 5.1 Customer Experience Unless there are curbside check-in counters, travelers being dropped off in front of the terminal at U.S. airports usually have no way to request assistance.
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62 Innovative Solutions to Facilitate Accessibility for Airport Travelers with Disabilities these checkpoints, applicable as well to any traveler with functional limitations. These challenges include waiting in line and prolonged standing, removing personal items and items of clothing and depositing them in trays, and lifting baggage on and off the screening conveyer belt (Mein et al.
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From Terminal Curbside Through Security 63 London Gatwick, which also has help points, provides an even better welcome. Wilson James, the airport's only service provider, has a curbside office and waiting room next to an accessible loading zone for travelers who need assistance.
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64 Innovative Solutions to Facilitate Accessibility for Airport Travelers with Disabilities As mentioned in Chapter 4, Air Carrier Access Act Part 382 regulations do not require any means curbside to call for assistance, even though air carriers must provide help from curb to gate and back. However, the U.S.
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From Terminal Curbside Through Security 65 ADA standards, according to guidance from the U.S. Access Board (2017)
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66 Innovative Solutions to Facilitate Accessibility for Airport Travelers with Disabilities ACRP Report 10: Innovations for Airport Terminal Facilities suggests the creation of passenger assistance parking areas like the ones at Munich International Airport, where drivers park free for 10 minutes (Corgan Associates, Inc.
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From Terminal Curbside Through Security 67 With respect to management of service provision in airports, companies such as Ozion and AvTech have also developed assistance software. Details on the capabilities of their software systems is also available in Chapter 12.
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68 Innovative Solutions to Facilitate Accessibility for Airport Travelers with Disabilities 5.3.1 Information Desks Although providing signage and web-based information is helpful, it is still necessary to have staff available to answer questions and to provide additional assistance, as needed. This is especially important to older travelers.
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From Terminal Curbside Through Security 69 The same video remote interpreting system is used for remote audio translation of various languages, helping airports to fulfill Title VI requirements under the Civil Rights Act of 1964. At the information booths at San Francisco International, a sign lists the many languages that can be interpreted.
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70 Innovative Solutions to Facilitate Accessibility for Airport Travelers with Disabilities Installing typical hearing loop systems requires wiring and amplifies sound around an entire room. However, at ticket counters or information booths, where communication is one on one, the counter loop is sufficient.
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From Terminal Curbside Through Security 71 displayed on large lighted screens in front of each Security checkpoint in Terminal 1–Lindbergh (Figure 5-11) , as well as on the airport's website homepage.
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72 Innovative Solutions to Facilitate Accessibility for Airport Travelers with Disabilities Figure 5-12 shows an airline directory at Baltimore–Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport, with general locations designated by capital letters. The check-in area features easily visible airline signage and good lines of sight, with the large capital letters from the directory standing out clearly in the distance.
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From Terminal Curbside Through Security 73 the responsibility for ensuring compliance and maintenance of accessible shared-use kiosks, also referred to as common-use self-service kiosks. The recently mandated kiosks are usable by most people with disabilities, including those who are blind.
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74 Innovative Solutions to Facilitate Accessibility for Airport Travelers with Disabilities Another technology in development is speech command for self-service kiosks. Because of privacy laws, the legality of speech command technologies is still under discussion.
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From Terminal Curbside Through Security 75 Any time there is a need to stand in line, seating should be available near the queue wherever possible. Older travelers can quickly become fatigued or experience pain when they are required to stand for a long time.
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76 Innovative Solutions to Facilitate Accessibility for Airport Travelers with Disabilities The curved front of the counter allows a closer approach for a passenger in a wheelchair, and the counter height is accessible, as well. The computer screens are adjustable so that agents can move the screen for better communication, in particular with passengers with hearing loss as it allows for better lip reading and to accommodate differences in height.
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From Terminal Curbside Through Security 77 5.6 Airport Mobility Devices 5.6.1 Wheelchairs and Scooters for Loan Open Doors Organization research shows that people with disabilities usually travel with one or more companions. If wheelchairs are available for loan, people with reduced mobility may prefer to have a member of their party provide assistance rather than a service agent.
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78 Innovative Solutions to Facilitate Accessibility for Airport Travelers with Disabilities a brief demonstration on how to use the scooter, and then use it independently until they board the plane. • Developed by the Japanese company WHILL, Inc., WHILL Next is a smart, self-driving, electric wheelchair that is controlled through a mobile app, providing not just mobility assistance but also navigation.
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From Terminal Curbside Through Security 79 PaxAssist, an airline service company based in New York City, has recently developed Jetweels, a transport chair made of transparent polycarbonate plastic that can pass through a standard airport metal detector without triggering the alarm. If approved by the TSA, it will enable passengers with limited mobility to remain seated during the screening process.
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80 Innovative Solutions to Facilitate Accessibility for Airport Travelers with Disabilities Figure 5-22. Wood transport chair used by Japan Airlines.
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From Terminal Curbside Through Security 81 Figure 5-24. Passenger Transport motor on Staxi wheelchair (Source: Motor Dolly)
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82 Innovative Solutions to Facilitate Accessibility for Airport Travelers with Disabilities • Ensuring that elevator size is appropriate for the volume of demand, with larger elevators provided landside where travelers more often have luggage carts to transport checked and carry-on bags; • Designating an elevator as priority use for people using wheelchairs where bottlenecks are a problem, such as at London Heathrow Terminal 2; • Using large, flow-through elevators landside so that people in wheelchairs and others with luggage and carts can enter and exit without turning around or backing out. These elevators are increasingly common in major U.S.
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From Terminal Curbside Through Security 83 their hands above their heads, the experience as a whole can be physically and mentally draining. This is also true for people with hearing loss who are at an extra disadvantage at a noisy checkpoint.
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84 Innovative Solutions to Facilitate Accessibility for Airport Travelers with Disabilities Figure 5-28. UbiDuo 2 Wireless Communication Technology (Source: sComm)
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From Terminal Curbside Through Security 85 a positive travel experience. In partnership with airlines and airport authorities, the Innovation Task Force began installing automated screening lanes at major U.S.
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86 Innovative Solutions to Facilitate Accessibility for Airport Travelers with Disabilities Figure 5-30. Quick Personnel Security Scanner (QPS200)
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From Terminal Curbside Through Security 87 In Europe, Vision-Box security screening eGates allow travelers to scan their own boarding pass to get to the designated Security checkpoint. It is possible to have lanes wide enough to accommodate wheelchairs and scooters, although some airports -- such as London Heathrow -- have a wide lane only for manual document inspection (Figure 5-32)
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