We work in partnership with organisations representing disabled persons and persons with reduced mobility to continually review and improve our service provision. Working closely with a number of disability organisations has greatly helped us improve the experience we provide all our passengers and more recently focusing on people travelling with hidden disabilities.
Organisations we have been working with include:-
- Alzheimer's Society
- Dementia Friends
- National Autism Society and Autism Hampshire
- Stomawise
- Action on Hearing Loss
- Guide Dogs for the Blind
- Crohns & Colitis UK
- Terptree
Following the Dementia Friends audit of our services and facilities, we are working through the recommendations we received and are making improvements to ensure we are a dementia friendly airport. Southampton Airport have signed up to become a Dementia Friend and have committing to 3 dementia-friendly actions. These are:-
- Hold a regular accessibility forum with disability organisations
- Carrying out an environmental audit of the airport by people affected by dementia
- Provide our teams with more in-depth training to enhance understanding of dementia
In addition to our regular Consultative Committee Meeting, we are also introducing a regular forum with local and national disability organisations to work together on developing our services.
The introduction of our ‘sunflower’ lanyards, a quieter route through the airport and signage improvements (including new tactile signs) have also contributed to improving the experience for passengers travelling with hidden disabilities.
During 2021, we are working to rebuild our accessibility forum as these partnerships are invaluable with helping us enhance the services we provide all our passengers.