Virgin Atlantic raises travel accessibility, deploys sign language-trained crew

Virgin Atlantic has become the first UK airline to offer British Sign Language (BSL)-trained cabin crew on its flights, a major step towards making travel inclusive for all. 

To mark the International Week of Deaf People, which fell on September 23-29, 2024, the airline sent three D/deaf personalities on a flight from London Heathrow Airport (LHR) to Dulles International Airport (IAD) to test the service.

The three hearing-impaired personalities were Gladiators star Jodie Ounsley and twin content creators Hermon and Heroda Berhane.

The flight experience was captured in footage since published by the airline on social media. 

The entire clip is geared towards those who cannot hear, and does not contain voice-speaking parts. The film shows BSL-trained crew welcoming the three passengers onboard the cabin, delivering instructions and taking meal orders using sign language.

In addition to ongoing BSL training for its cabin crew, Virgin Atlantic has also committed to increase subtitled options available on in-flight entertainment and increase clarity of services and links to special assistance contact within Virgin Atlantic’s My Booking platform.It will also be introducing Sign Live, an on-demand BSL interpreter for customer service teams ensuring support at all points along the journey.  

To help enhance the carrier’s accessibility offering, it has developed an ‘Accessibility Advisory Board’, which will include leaders from across the industry each with their own personal experiences of accessible travel. The board will continuously review processes and products and help shape the development of the airline’s accessibility offering.

Virgin Atlantic has been working with the Royal National Institute for Deaf People (RNID) on research surveys. Findings indicate that that while 82% of the people surveyed by the charity who are D/deaf or have hearing loss say they’re planning at least one trip abroad over the next 12 months, more than half (58%) worry about communicating with cabin crew when they fly, and nine in 10 feel concerned about missing announcements and key information. 

The survey also showed that introduction of deaf awareness training for airlines would make people who are D/deaf or have hearing loss feel more confident when traveling (80%), supported when traveling (61%) and even more inclined to fly (17%).  

Virgin Atlantic’s team of BSL-trained crew has more than doubled since the start of 2023, and are available to request on all flights. 

RELATED

Virgin Atlantic and SAS join forces to launch new codeshare agreement

The post Virgin Atlantic raises travel accessibility, deploys sign language-trained crew appeared first on AeroTime.

Go to Source