The European blind union (EBU) have released their quarterly EBU Focus newsletter for March on air travel for people living with visual impairments and blindness. Now available in seven languages; English, French, German, Spanish, Polish, Serbian and Turkish, the last three of which are accessible in a word document only, this newsletter describes the obstacles visually impaired and blind people faced when using aviation travel.
It also describes the progress made to improve these conditions, such as the inclusion of specific features in airports to support a more independent and stress-free travel experience for partially-sighted and blind passengers and how this has inspired similar action to improve the accessibility of other public forms of transport.
This newsletter details the challenges visually-impaired and blind people encounter when using aviation travel, such as discrimination against people with guide dogs and restrictions prohibiting them from occupying emergency exit seats. Additionally, this newsletter explains the legislation introduced to improve these circumstances and how specific features, such as safety and assembly information being displayed in large fonts with strong colour contrasts and in braille, as seen in Athens International Airport has made aviation travel more accessible.
Read the full newsletter here about the rights of visually impaired and blind people when flying, your right to travel with a guide dog and airports that have specific measures in place to make important flight and safety information clear, legible and accessible.
http://www.euroblind.org/newsletter/2020/march/fr/aeroports-europeens-et-passagers-deficients-visuels