ACI Europe Prioritizes Airport Assistance of People with Non-visible Disabilities

Photo source: ACI EUROPE

ACI Europe released this week the first-ever tool for airports with practical guidance on how to assist passengers with non-visible disabilities as part of ongoing efforts to ensure that airports across Europe remain accessible to everyone.

According to Eurostat, one in four adults in the EU is living with some form of disability and approximately 80 percent of these conditions are non-visible.

The new guidance titled “Assisting Passengers with Non-Visible Disabilities” and consisting of a manual with ready-made solutions, aims to provide the knowhow so that airport facilities and staff are able to meet the needs and expectations of passengers, including being more aware of non-visible conditions.

ACI Europe notes that airports are taking proactive steps to address these needs and are adapting their services so that these passengers have the same rights to free movement, freedom of choice and non-discrimination.

“Travel is a fundamental right for all, and it is our collective responsibility to ensure that airports across Europe remain accessible to everyone,” said ACI Europe Director General Olivier Jankovec, adding that the document offers “practical guidance on how to assist passengers with non-visible disabilities in an empathetic and respectful manner”.

Athens International Airport, Photo source: ACI EUROPE

According to ACI’s new guidance, non-visible disabilities may include:

-mental health conditions such as anxiety, depression, obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD), schizophrenia, personality disorder

-autism spectrum disorders (ASD)

-attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), (ADD)

-sensory processing difficulties

-cognitive impairment, such as dementia, traumatic brain injury, learning disabilities

-physical health conditions, such as chronic pain, respiratory conditions, diabetes, incontinence, Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD), stoma patients, heart diseases

-hearing loss

-vision impairments

-dexterity loss.

In relevant news, late last year, the Council of the European Union agreed on the directive establishing the European Disability Card and the European Parking Card for persons with disabilities.