British Airways makes travel easier for passengers with autism
British Airways’ Visual Guide to Flying aims to make travel a more comfortable experience for passengers with autism
British Airways has produced a Visual Guide to Flying, as part of a new partnership with Learning Rose, an organisation that develops support material for people with autism.
The Visual Guide, the first from any airline in the UK is endorsed by the National Autistic Society and is designed to help passengers prepare for their trip and make them feel as comfortable as possible during their journey. Each section of the guide, which can be downloaded from ba.com, describes a different part of the flying experience, using simple icons and text to describe the sights, sounds and smells passengers can expect.
In addition to the Visual Guide, the partnership also includes colleague training and support and bespoke colleague consultation sessions to ensure the airline’s staff have help on hand to always ensure best practice.
Learning Rose was founded by Rebecca Taylor, whose son has autism, mitigated echolalia and sensory modulation dysfunction. Taylor previously worked at British Airways as cabin crew, before founding Learning Rose to help others gain a better understanding of autism through designing support materials to enhance the lives of those with autism and other disabilities.
In a March 30 press release, Taylor said, “I am really proud to partner with British Airways to create a newly updated and expanded Visual Guide and provide additional training and support for the airline’s colleagues. I know from both my experience working as cabin crew and from travelling with my son that flying can sometimes be overwhelming for people with autism, so I am delighted to be working with British Airways to help ease any travel anxieties that people with autism may face.”
In the same release, Calum Laming, Chief Customer Officer at British Airways said,“ At British Airways we welcome more than half a million customers who require special assistance each year and we’re fully committed to making sure our service is accessible to all. We’re always looking for ways to improve the experience for customers with visible and non-visible disabilities. Our partnership with Learning Rose is just one of the many initiatives we have in place to make flying as stress-free as possible and we’re looking forward to further strengthening and enhancing our partnership going forward.”
