Accessible and inclusive aviation is not just about passengers with disabilities or older people, it is about everyone. By ensuring that aviation is truly accessible to all, there is more business development opportunity for airlines and IATA Strategic Partners.
IATA and its member airlines are committed to ensuring that all passengers can enjoy the freedom offered by air travel, no matter their disabilities or limitations.
The UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UNPDR), adopted in December 2006, seeks to guarantee that persons with disabilities are treated equally to those that do not face these challenges. Translating that commitment into sound government policy remains a challenge, particularly when faced with the operational realities of commercial aviation.
In 2019, the IATA Annual General Meeting (AGM) unanimously adopted a “Resolution on Passengers with Disabilities” which affirmed the commitment of member airlines to provide safe, reliable and dignified travel for persons with disabilities and set forth policy principles that governments should follow when enacting laws and regulations to protect their rights.
Since then, IATA has embraced the disability movement’s guiding principle of ‘Nothing For Us, Without Us’, by involving passenger representatives in all stages of the development of airline airline accessibility policy and standards and by keeping focus on disability, accessibility and inclusion. In fact, IATA just launched the Accessibility Strategic Partnerships Program to further emphasize the importance of this topic for the industry.
‘We quickly realized that without listening to passengers and focusing on providing solutions according to the type of disability, we couldn’t truly meet their needs, which are different depending on whether someone is using crutches or a wheelchair, has a mental disability or is ageing. With technology advancements, innovative solutions, and the establishment of global standards, we are part of a global movement towards a fully inclusive aviation system”.
One of the biggest challenges for persons with disabilities traveling internationally is the lack of consistency in the universal application of laws and regulations. As a result, a passenger with a disability may find that his or her needs are accommodated differently depending on where they travel. This results in both confusion and frustration for the traveler and added costs and complexity for airlines. IATA continues to push governments to recognize that commercial aviation and the passengers it serves rely on effective coordination between these entities, and the UNPDR goals cannot be reached without this harmonization.
From the regulatory perspective, the General Assembly of the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) recognized that a unified approach to the work on accessibility in aviation is a contributor to the achievement of the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and agreed that Member States should work hand in hand with the industry and the disability community when developing and implementing accessibility regulations.
An inclusive, compassionate, and balanced culture must run through the entire industry and be at the forefront of our future initiatives. IATA and its members recognize that more must be done to make our business fully inclusive and accessible through collaboration of all stakeholders, including governments, airports, the disability community, and our partners to realize the vision of the UNPDR and the people throughout our industry that continue to support this endeavor.
Linda Ristagno
Assistant Director External Affairs, IATA
