Japan Airlines and All Nippon Airways have introduced a new set of accessibility guidelines for passengers requesting special assistance at the airport and during their flight.
Created under the direct supervision of The Nippon Care-Fit Education Institute, the guidelines are designed to ensure a safe and accessible journey for passengers amid Covid-19, the airlines said in a joint statement.
JAL staff will provide support to wheelchair users from the side, rather than from the front, to prevent infection
In providing assistance involving physical contact with travellers, the airlines will strengthen initiatives to ensure hand disinfection and sterilisation, and approaching diagonally or from the side to prevent direct transmission.
As well, the airlines’ ground staff will wear gloves when providing assistance in close quarters, for example, when helping customers move between a wheelchair and seat or providing guidance through physical contact. They will also wear gowns upon request or at their own discretion.
To avoid the risk of droplet infection, the airlines’ staff will also keep conversation outside of that necessary for assisting purposes to a minimum and position themselves diagonally in front when providing assistance to avoid face-to-face situations.
Service equipment such as wheelchairs, baby strollers and assist seats are sanitised before each use, as are braille/large-print copies of the airlines’ printed guidance (such as safety instruction cards and drink menus).
The new measures also aim to strengthen the airlines’ ability to provide timely information on infection prevention measures to those with visual and/or hearing impairment. As part of efforts to improve communications, the carriers will provide visual aids at the airport to overcome the difficulties that masks create for the hearing impaired.
The guidelines follow the IATA’s Guidance on Accessible Air Travel in Response to Covid-19, which lays out the basic principles for airlines to follow on special assistance requests, and the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism of Japan’s updated measures to adjust to today’s travelling environment.
Japan Airlines and All Nippon Airways have introduced a new set of accessibility guidelines for passengers requesting special assistance at the airport and during their flight.
Created under the direct supervision of The Nippon Care-Fit Education Institute, the guidelines are designed to ensure a safe and accessible journey for passengers amid Covid-19, the airlines said in a joint statement.
In providing assistance involving physical contact with travellers, the airlines will strengthen initiatives to ensure hand disinfection and sterilisation, and approaching diagonally or from the side to prevent direct transmission.
As well, the airlines’ ground staff will wear gloves when providing assistance in close quarters, for example, when helping customers move between a wheelchair and seat or providing guidance through physical contact. They will also wear gowns upon request or at their own discretion.
To avoid the risk of droplet infection, the airlines’ staff will also keep conversation outside of that necessary for assisting purposes to a minimum and position themselves diagonally in front when providing assistance to avoid face-to-face situations.
Service equipment such as wheelchairs, baby strollers and assist seats are sanitised before each use, as are braille/large-print copies of the airlines’ printed guidance (such as safety instruction cards and drink menus).
The new measures also aim to strengthen the airlines’ ability to provide timely information on infection prevention measures to those with visual and/or hearing impairment. As part of efforts to improve communications, the carriers will provide visual aids at the airport to overcome the difficulties that masks create for the hearing impaired.
The guidelines follow the IATA’s Guidance on Accessible Air Travel in Response to Covid-19, which lays out the basic principles for airlines to follow on special assistance requests, and the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism of Japan’s updated measures to adjust to today’s travelling environment.