Air Canada's Making It Easier For Travellers With Hidden Disabilities & The Signal Is So Sweet
The airline has also created a new Customer Accessibility Advisory Committee.
An Air Canada plane.
Air Canada has announced that it is rolling out new measures to better serve customers with non-visible disabilities.
On Tuesday, the airline said it had become the first in North America to adopt the Hidden Disabilities Sunflower program and confirmed its first appointments to its new Customer Accessibility Advisory Committee, which will guide Air Canada's accelerated three-year accessibility plan.
In a press release, Air Canada's Vice President of Customer Experience and Operations Strategy Tom Stevens said the adoption of the Sunflower program will enable the airline to better assist and serve customers with non-visible disabilities such as autism.
The Hidden Disabilities Sunflower is a globally recognized program that uses the symbol of a sunflower symbol to identify customers with non-visible disabilities who may need additional support, help or a little more time.
According to Hidden Disabilities, the sunflower was chosen as a visual cue for others to identify and acknowledge people living with a hidden disability because it suggests happiness, positivity, strength, growth and confidence.
"By choosing to wear the Sunflower lanyard, Air Canada customers can indicate to airline staff that they may require additional assistance, have specific needs, or simply require more time while travelling," said the airline.
The lanyard is available at check-in counters at Hidden Disability Sunflower member airports in Canada (which includes Pearson Airport, Vancouver International Airport and Winnipeg Airport) and on board all flights operated by Air Canada, Air Canada Rouge and Air Canada Express.
The airline says it is training and building awareness among all customer-facing employees to recognize and respond appropriately to customers using the lanyard.
The move is part of Air Canada's accelerated accessibility plan. In November, the airline pledged to speed up the three-year plan amid a series of accessibility shortfalls and reports of poor treatment, including forgetting to bring the wheelchair of Canada’s chief accessibility officer on a cross-country flight and one passenger who had to drag himself off an Air Canada flight in Las Vegas due to a lack of assistance.
The airline said in November that it was accelerating its accessibility plan through a series of measures to "remove barriers and improve the travel experience for its customers with disabilities."
These include boarding practices for customers who request lift assistance, new systems to track mobility aids and confirm that they are properly loaded, enhanced employee training and the creation of a new position of director of customer accessibility.