EasyJet and Gatwick partner on ‘ground-breaking’ guide for visually impaired travellers

Free, on-demand service accessible through Aira app

EasyJet and Gatwick partner on ‘ground-breaking’ guide app for visually impaired travellers.

Blind and visually impaired passengers at Gatwick are being offered a guiding service which they can access through the camera on their mobile phones.

Passengers can call a professionally trained agent 24 hours a day who will guide them through the airport, help them read documents or flight information, shop or even find their bag on the luggage carousel.

The free, on-demand service can be accessed through the Aira app on a smart phone. The airport said it will give blind and visually impaired passengers more independence to move through and enjoy the facilities at the airport.

The system is being trialled for six months at Gatwick in partnership easyJet. Chair of easyJet’s Special Assistance Advisory Group, Lord David Blunkett, said:

“This is a great experiment and innovation which I know over time will be life changing in terms of providing equality to passengers with no or little sight.

“This extremely ground-breaking technological breakthrough will allow the partnership between easyJet and Gatwick to demonstrate, for future use across airports here and across the world, just how a simple app and addition to an iPhone or other similar technology can make such a difference.

“I know from my own experience that it will take a bit of technical expertise but also just how liberating this could be, both for those who just need a little extra help as well as for those passengers who want to complement the wider assistance available with an independent solution that they can use themselves.”

The Aira system can also be used to get the latest information on a passenger’s individual journey plans such as flight information and onward connections or to read menus in restaurants, prices and offers in shops or even help finding baggage on reclaim belts.

Twelve thousand passengers a year notify the UK’s second biggest airport that they are blind or partially sighted.

These passengers can now download and register with the app in advance (during the trial Gatwick passengers can also sign in as a “guest”) when entering airport. Registered users may also use a specialist glasses (Horizon) which send the view to the agent.

Chris Woodroofe, chief operating officer, Gatwick Airport, said:  “Airports are complex environments and this new system helps to give blind and visually impaired passengers more independence so they can more easily relax and enjoy their time at Gatwick.

“We have an ambition to be the UK’s most accessible airport and we are looking to do this by investing and innovating and by putting the needs of every passenger at the heart of our operation.  Ultimately we want to make sure that everybody has an equal opportunity to fly.”

Gatwick has a partnership with the RNIB to help ensure that the airport has appropriate processes and services in place to help blind and visually impaired passengers at the airport.  This new AIRA system is a great enhancement and will improve accessibility for blind or partially sighted passengers further still.

Marc Powell, strategic relationships executive at RNIB, said: “We know that an airport is a challenging environment for lots of people, let alone blind and partially sighted people. We are pleased Gatwick are proactively looking at potential solutions to aid and assist passengers and look forward to hearing people’s feedback about AIRA.”