PEOPLE matters

Customer facilitation

Richard Plenty and Terri Morrissey reflect on the importance of designing for a diverse range of travellers.

A few years ago, one of the authors (Terri) badly sprained both of her ankles, luckily not at the same time, but within the same year. The experience of having to wear a specially designed boot and trying to walk with crutches gave her an insight into what it must be like to travel with a permanent disability.

She needed to build in more time to negotiate her way around and it turned out to be more expensive as she had to take taxis. Taking trips and finding her way through airports involved much planning ahead.

“Walking in the passenger’s shoes” quite literally, made us realise the importance of designing for people with mobility issues and disabilities in general.

Many airports now are much more conscious of people with disabilities. They are aware that not all disabilities are as visible as mobility challenges. With increasing numbers of people wanting to travel, airports find they are having to design their services for a broader spectrum of passengers than in the past

Building awareness of the issues involved in dealing with disability is essential. There are many types of disability – and cultural differences around the world in how disabilities are perceived.

There are also many touchpoints – check in, baggage, security, retail, passport control, boarding – and usually these involve people not directly employed by the airport. Those airports that aspire to reach the highest standards of passenger facilitation have to make an effort to reach all those in passenger-facing roles.

To help in raising standards, ACI and IATA have developed programmes and produced handbooks and training manuals on this subject. Some airports such as London Gatwick (LGW), with its sensory room for relaxation, and Vancouver (YVR) with its programme for people with autism, are excellent examples of the conscious design that is required to cater for diverse passengers.

Such considered thought is enabling thousands of people, who might have been excluded from travel in the past, to take part now in an activity the majority have taken for granted.

Daa (Dublin Airport Authority) provides a further example. It has produced an excellent booklet, A Short Guide, in consultation with Age Action, which is especially designed for older travellers. In fact, it is not just helpful for older adults, but it can be used by anyone trying to navigate their way through the airport, especially during particularly busy periods.

It lays out in simple terms how to find gates, where to look for check in areas, how to get specialist assistance, and also where restrooms and other facilities are located in the airport. It is an excellent example of how to simplify what could otherwise be a complex and mystifying airport experience.

It also has a special section ‘Important Flyer’ where people with autism and other ‘invisible’ disabilities can be identified by wearing wristbands or lanyards.

Empathetic consideration for passengers with disabilities need not only be regulation bound, but a matter for everyday operations. Creative and innovative thinking needs to be encouraged. Listening carefully, suspending judgement and dealing with each person as an individual are key.

‘What matters to people’ is more important than ‘what’s the matter with them’. Thinking along these lines can raise the travelling experience for all passengers and help manage throughput in a caring way. With forethought, design and training, airports need not be sources of distress to an already anxious traveller.

Arrivals and departures

Dato’ Mohd Izani Ghani is the new managing director of Malaysia Airports Holdings Berhad (MAHB). Izani is a former Board Member of Malaysia Airports which he served on for nine years, from 2011 to 2019.

Francois Berisot is Budapest Airport’s new CEO, succeeding the long serving Kam Jamdu. Berisot moves from a similar position at Nikola Tesla Airport in Belgrade, which is part of VINCI Airports’ global network of gateways.

Metropolitan Nashville Airport Authority has announced a new leadership team under president and CEO, Doug Kreulen. The new team includes senior vice president, chief administrative officer, John Cooper; vice president for airport planning, strategic planning, Syed Mehdi; and vice president for airport capital development, Puneet Vedi.

Baroness Liz Sugg is the new chair the Council for the Independent Scrutiny of Heathrow Airport (CISHA). CISHA was formed following extensive stakeholder consultation and has been designed to maximise the efficiency and transparency of Heathrow’s community engagement, including scrutinising its sustainability progress and establishing stronger links between the UK hub’s five existing community forums.

Erick Dahl is the new airport director of Colorado’s Rocky Mountain Metropolitan Airport and Tyler Miller is the new chief operating officer of Blue Grass Airport (LEX) in Lexington, Kentucky.

Finally, two tourism-based appointments. Brisbane Airport CEO, Gert-Jan de Graaff, has been appointed to the Board of Tourism and Events Queensland (TEQ). The experienced airport boss has worked across four continents over a quarter of a century. Meanwhile in Ireland, Cork Airport’s managing director, Niall MacCarthy, has been elected as the new chairperson of the Irish Tourism Industry Confederation (ITIC).

About the authors

Terri Morrissey and Dr Richard Plenty run ACI’s Human Resources training. They received a Presidential Citation from the American Psychological Association in June 2022 for their leadership in advancing global psychology. Contact them at info@thisis.eu