Ensuring equitable access for all passengers

Passenger Terminal Today
Helen Norman
22 July 2024

Flexibility, autonomy and choice: these are the three key factors that make up a great travel experience for disabled passengers at airports, according to Emily Yates, head of accessibility and inclusive design at Mima, a human-centered design agency that has worked with airports around the world to improve their accessibility, passenger experience and wayfinding strategies. Yates, a wheelchair user with cerebral palsy, believes all airports should be striving to offer disabled passengers “a human experience rather than a scheduled process, wherever possible.

“I’d love to see a redesign of the assistance service to provide more autonomy for passengers,” she says. “An assisted journey, as it’s currently designed, does not enable me to behave like a ‘regular’ passenger. Rarely can I shop, drink and dine like my peers and I am sometimes left in a waiting area with fellow passengers who require assistance until it is time for us to board. This is not quite the start to a break by the beach or an energizing work trip that any of us are after!”

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