London Luton Airport and easyJet Host Accessibility Familiarisation Day
(IN SHORT) London Luton Airport (LLA) and easyJet collaborated to host an Accessibility Familiarisation Day, welcoming visitors with visual or hidden disabilities to experience every aspect of the passenger journey. More than 30 attendees engaged in activities ranging from check-in to boarding, interacting with airport staff and easyJet crew along the way. The event aimed to familiarize participants with airport procedures and facilities, fostering inclusivity and ensuring a positive travel experience for passengers with disabilities. Positive feedback from attendees highlighted the event’s impact, paving the way for future initiatives to enhance accessibility at LLA. Additionally, LLA’s upcoming launch of a new airside lounge for passengers with reduced mobility underscores its commitment to providing a supportive environment for all travelers.
(PRESS RELEASE) London, UK, 2024-Mar-12 — /Travel PR News/ — London Luton Airport (LLA) and easyJet have hosted an Accessibility Familiarisation Day, providing passengers with visual or hidden disabilities with an opportunity to experience every step of the passenger journey.
More than 30 visitors attended the event to experience check-in, security search, the departure lounge and other airport facilities, before boarding an easyJet aircraft to talk with cabin crew who had volunteered for the event.
Teams from across the airport, including LLA’s Guest Experience team, Security and Operations, as well as special assistance service provider, Wilson James, acted as hosts for the day, supported by Menzies Aviation, Bedfordshire Police and the airport Fire Service. Visitors were able to experience and ask questions about all aspects of the airport’s operation.
Ruqsana Khan, who attended the day with her 9-year-old son Zayd, commented: “Thank you so much to everyone at London Luton Airport who provided this wonderful opportunity and who were all so kind and helpful. Zayd has had such a positive experience, it feels like half the battle has already been won. The next step is for us to go an actual journey, but for Zayd to have the opportunity to become more familiar with all aspects of the airport experience, and to know that there are so many people on hand to help, really provides us with a platform to build on. I hope this will mean we are able to enjoy some wonderful travel experiences in the years to come.”
Clare Armstrong, Head of Guest Experience at London Luton Airport, commented: “We want to make travel accessible for everyone and this event provided a useful opportunity for passengers, and would-be passengers, with either visual or hidden disabilities, to familiarise themselves with the different areas of an airport, without the time constraints of catching a flight. The event helps us to ensure we maintain a disability friendly environment and aims to provide passengers with disabilities with any reassurance they may need. It’s been really pleasing to receive so much positive feedback from the families who came along and we now look forward to providing them with another simple and friendly passenger experience as they set off on their travels this summer and beyond.”
Later this year, LLA will unveil a new airside lounge for passengers with reduced mobility, providing a calm and peaceful dedicated space for passengers with special assistance needs. The lounge facilities will include a sensory area, adult changing facilities, flight information screens, charging points for wheelchairs and phones, adjustable lighting and a range of seating options, as well as drinking water facilities.
In Q4 2023, LLA received a ‘very good’ rating from the UK Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) for its provision of services for passengers with special assistance needs. Last year, the airport was recognised for its commitment to continuous customer experience improvement, achieving level 2 of Airports Council International’s (ACI) Customer Experience Accreditation programme, and recorded its highest annual ASQ score, with 4.06 out of 5 passengers rating their experience as very good/excellent.
Notes for Editors
The London Luton Airport Accessibility Forum (LLAAF) provides an opportunity for disability groups and passengers with visual and hidden disabilities to tour the airport, both landside and airside, and to discuss opportunities for an enhanced passenger experience with representatives from LLA and special assistance provider, Wilson James. Attendees include Action on Hearing Loss, Age UK, Alzheimer’s Society, Autism Bedfordshire, Colostomy UK, the Disability Resource Centre, Guide Dogs for the Blind, Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation and the Spinal Injuries Association.
About London Luton Airport
London Luton Airport (LLA) is one of the UK’s busiest airports, carrying over 16.2 million passengers in 2023.
The airport is operated by a consortium, of which the majority shareholder is AENA, the world’s largest airport operator, and InfraBridge, a leading infrastructure investment manager. Airlines include easyJet, Wizz Air, Ryanair, Tui, FlyOne, Sun Express and El Al.
The Luton Airport Express is a new dedicated train service that allows passengers to travel from central London to the LLA terminal in around 30 minutes. The Luton Airport Express runs from St Pancras International to Luton Airport Parkway station and connects seamlessly with the DART, an electrically powered people mover that connects to the airport terminal in less than four minutes.
In 2023, LLA was named the UK’s best airport by readers of the prestigious Condé Nast Traveller magazine.
Last year, LLA also became only the third major UK airport to achieve Level 4 of the globally recognised Airport Carbon Accreditation scheme, demonstrating that it is ‘transforming its operations to achieve carbon reductions in line with global climate goals’. With a maximum score of 100 and a five-star rating, LLA has been ranked as a sector leader for two consecutive years in the Global Real Estate Sustainability Benchmark (GRESB) benchmark of sustainability governance management and performance of major infrastructure assets worldwide.
To learn about the progress London Luton Airport is making across its sustainability programme please click here
Further information on London Luton Airport can be found here: https://www.london-luton.co.uk/
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Source: London Luton Airport
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