United Airlines will equip the cabins of part of its fleet with a braille signage to facilitate the boarding of visually impaired or blind passengersbecoming the first US airline to do so.
Braille markings will be installed to indicate the rows and the seat numbers as well as inside and outside the gates of bathroom. “By adding more tactile signage in our interiors, we’re making the flight experience more inclusive and accessible, and that’s good for everyone.“said Linda Jojo, executive vice president, chief customer officer of United Airlines. “Finding your seat on a plane or getting to the bathroom is something most of us take for granted, but for millions of our customers it can be a challenge to do so independently.“
The American company does not intend to stop there. She is currently working with the National Federation of the Blind (NFB) and the American Board of the Blind (ACB)” to explore the use of other tactile navigation aids throughout the cabin, such as raised letters, numbers and arrows “.
In Europe, Air France and KLM have Braille printed on the safety instructions and plane map, Vueling offers a Braille menu, Turkish Airlines a Braille boarding pass from Istanbul, etc., but no European airline has yet installed Braille markings in the cabin. According to the Handicap.fr website, some 60,000 French people read Braille.
