OUR PROMISE
For millions of people living with a disability, travel can be difficult – and flying can sometimes feel out of reach. More than half a million customers who require additional assistance fly with British Airways each year, and we believe our unique British Airways service should be accessible to everyone.
We’re continually improving our service and our ambition is to become the airline of choice for customers with visible and non-visible disabilities. We are committed to doing everything we can to support customers that require additional assistance and provide a seamless travel experience.
SUPPORTING OUR CUSTOMERS BEFORE THEY TRAVEL
Dedicated pre-travel customer care team
At British Airways, we have our own dedicated Accessibility team to provide specialist support for customers who require additional assistance, designed to ensure every journey they take with us is as straightforward and stress-free as possible.
Our hand-picked team of Customer Service professionals receive specialist training, to enable them to answer any questions customers have when they get in touch with us. Our team help customers understand what to expect during their journey.
Customers can contact our team prior to making a booking, or once a booking has been made, for support and advice. Once a booking has been made, customers can also log in to Manage My Booking to let us know the type of assistance needed up to 48 hours before the flight is due to depart. We offer assistance with mobility, for those who are D/deaf and hard of hearing, blind and with low vision and non-visible disabilities.
The team can also help customers make new flight, hotel and car hire bookings, arrange bespoke assistance, pre-book seating, inform airport staff and Cabin Crew about specific requirements, and provide information and support to empower customers to have the confidence to fly.
SUPPORTING CUSTOMERS WITH ADDITIONAL REQUIREMENTS
We have invested in a range of services to support customers who require additional assistance, designed to help ensure that they travel safely, with dignity and in comfort.
VISUAL GUIDE TO FLYING
British Airways offers customers with autism a Visual Guide to Flying, to help them prepare for their flight. We were the first UK airline to be awarded the renowned Autism Friendly Award by the National Autistic Society and became the first airline to produce a Visual Guide to Flying, in partnership with Learning Rose. The guide, which can be found on ba.com, is endorsed by the National Autistic Society and explains the sights, sounds, smells and experiences customers may encounter during their journey with us.
WORKING WITH QUEEN ELIZABETH’S FOUNDATION FOR DISABLED PEOPLE
British Airways is working with Queen Elizabeth’s Foundation for Disabled People (QEF) on a number of initiatives, including supporting their training courses for occupational therapists with our air travel knowledge and assessing and pre-approving seat support devices recommended by the charity for use onboard British Airways’ flights. The full list of pre-approved devices can be found on the British Airways website or when customers get in touch with our dedicated accessibility team. We have invested in a range of services to support customers who require additional assistance, designed to help ensure that they travel safely, with dignity and in comfort.
SIGN LIVE
British Airways has partnered with SignLive to use British Sign Language (BSL) in our customer engagement centres. Customers that use BSL can contact us using a Video Relay Service provided by SignLive, a free service that will connect customers to a qualified online BSL interpreter. The interpreter will relay the conversation between the customer and a member of British Airways’ Accessibility team.
CONTACTING BRITISH AIRWAYS ’ ACCESSIBILITY TEAM
• Our accessibility team can be contacted in the UK via phone Monday – Saturday from 08:00 – 18:00 on:
0800 408 1100
Outside of this time, customers can leave a message for the team, and someone will respond as soon as possible.
For customers outside of the UK, or those who would prefer to contact us via email, customers can email us via our contact us page on ba.com
• We have a minicom system for customers who are D/deaf or hard of hearing which is open Monday – Saturday, 06:00-20:00 on:
0345 700 7706
• We also have a British Sign Language (BSL) Video Relay Service in partnership with SignLive, which is available Monday – Saturday, 09:00-17:00. Visit www.signlive.co.uk to download the app
• Customers can find out more by visiting our website or by speaking to a member of the Accessibility team by phone or email
SUPPORTING OUR CUSTOMERS AT THE AIRPORT AND ONBOARD
A range of services are available to our customers at the airport, and we work closely with our airport partners to make all necessary arrangements.
Depending on our customers’ individual needs and circumstances, we can arrange:
• Assistance or an escort to and from the aircraft
• Help with stairs, where necessary
• Transport for wheelchairs and mobility aids with the support of Wilson James, our accessibility service provider at Heathrow
When on the aircraft, our Cabin Crew can help:
• Familiarise customers with their seat and the surrounding area
• Store and retrieve hand baggage
• Support customers to move between their seat and the bathroom. All of our aircraft are equipped with an onboard wheelchair
• Open any packaging of onboard meals, identify meals and the layout of the meal tray
• Customers can contact our Accessibility team in advance to let us know their requirements or can alert a crew member when onboard
HIDDEN DISABILITIES SUNFLOWER
We were the first UK airline to officially recognise the sunflower lanyard, partnering with Hidden Disabilities Sunflower. Customers can choose to wear a sunflower lanyard as an indication that they may require additional support, assistance or simply a little more time when travelling.
Our colleagues are trained to understand what a non-visible disability is, and how to approach and support customers wearing a sunflower lanyard.
SIGNCODEUK
We have recently partnered with SigncodeUK to further improve our accessibility offering for Deaf and hard-of-hearing customers, with new signed video content containing a variety of helpful travel information being made available to customers both pre-travel and whilst on board.
SigncodeUK is an organisation dedicated to ensuring equal access to information, products and services for the Deaf and hard-of-hearing community and specialises in translating key information into signed videos. We have collaborated with the organisation to produce signed videos which can be accessed either via a link or unique QR code, allowing customers to receive personalised video messages in sign language.
The first video, which is available for viewing pre-travel on ba.com, offers a comprehensive overview of British Airways’ service proposition throughout the entire journey, including booking process, the airport experience, onboard services and the in-flight entertainment offering. It also includes a BSL introduction from Fredrick Da Costa, British Airways’ first Deaf Customer Experience Agent who uses BSL as part of his role.
A second video, available by the end of 2023, focuses on onboard safety features and procedures. This video will be accessible on ba.com and via a QR code that British Airways Mainline cabin crew will have on their mobile devices on board, giving customers the option to choose between receiving a signed video safety briefing on their personal device, or receiving a personalised briefing delivered by one of our crew face-to-face, which is already offered to Deaf or hard of hearing customers.
AIRPORT ASSISTANCE AT LONDON HEATHROW
British Airways has dedicated check-in areas at London Heathrow for customers requiring additional assistance and for families with young children.
TRAINING AND SUPPORTING OUR COLLEAGUES
Colleague training, internal tools and resources
In 2018 we launched our ‘Beyond Accessibility’ campaign, our largest global accessibility training programme for British Airways’ colleagues. This programme empowers customer facing colleagues to improve support for customers requiring additional assistance. It includes a library of digital learning, providing information about visible and non-visible disabilities and practical advice on how to support customers at each stage of their journey.
We are always updating our training and working with different organisations and charities across the accessibility space to ensure our colleagues are providing the best support to customers. For example, colleagues recently underwent training with Colostomy UK. We also have a partnership with Alzheimer’s UK to help raise awareness and train our colleagues to support any customers with dementia when flying.
In addition, we regularly engage with our colleagues through our colleague network group ‘Being Accessible’ to further support our customers and colleagues with visible and non-visible disabilities, trial new products and services and offer feedback on new products and initiatives.
WORKING WITH ORGANISATIONS AND GOVERNMENT TO PROVIDE FURTHER SUPPORT
British Airways is part of the Accessibility Working Group chaired by IATA (International Air Transport Association), working to support the industry in delivering the best possible service for customers who have additional requirements, sharing best practice across airlines and engaging with the community.
We have played an active role in The Mobility Aids Action Group, helping IATA develop new guidelines around handling mobility devices.
We have a longstanding relationship with the Business Disability Forum which offers best practice advice and guidance and ensures we remain up to date with changing developments. In addition, we are part of the government’s Disability Confident scheme.
We also work closely with our airport operators, such as London Heathrow and London Gatwick, as well as suppliers across the globe, to provide extra assistance for customers when travelling through the airport.
British Airways works with a variety of organisations and charities to support and enhance our accessibility offering.
We were delighted to be ranked as the best-performing UK airline for website accessibility in a recent report published by the CAA for our user-friendly Digital Accessibility proposition and will continue to work hard to review and improve our offering.
Download the full Accessibility fact sheet here
We are working hard to improve our accessibility offering for our customers and are continually introducing new initiatives and partnerships to help us on our journey. This document will be updated regularly to reflect all the changes we are making.
Last updated March 2024.
