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Air travel is an integral aspect of the modern world.

Flying, on the other hand, can be an uncomfortable, frightening, or downright painful experience for passengers with physical or hidden disabilities. It’s essential to ensure dependable, dignified air travel available to all passengers, regardless of their ability.

In a complex location like an airport, an effective signage system is critical to meet their needs and can be easily implemented:

– People with reduced visual ability can use audio cues to help them find strategic points of interest such as entrances, counters, and restrooms.

– Usage of Braille signs, larger letters, and brighter colours on display screens.

– Using shapes and infographics to communicate in a better and more effective way!

– Using technology and apps to help in better navigation.

– Installing an easy-to-understand signage system benefits all travellers, including those with reduced or no ability or mobility.

– A well-trained and approachable staff is essential . Despite the fact that it can be difficult to achieve because airports are plagued by high turnover, which reduces the efficiency of their services.

– It’s critical to organise a good training programme when it comes to accommodating passengers with disabilities.

Air travel can be made accessible, safe and dignified for everybody including for those with reduced mobility. It would take a collective effort to implement a large scale change and train staff to ensure accessibility in every aspect.

Accessible tourism is a concept that ensures that tourist destinations and related services are accessible to all people regardless of their reduced mobility, age, non-impairment et cetera

Accessible tourism can be applied to a large number of public and private owned tourist places.

Accessible tourism consists of universal design in terms of services, tourist spots and related products which can be used by everyone including those with reduced mobility, vision, cognitive function with equal comfort and ease.

It ensures dignified living and equitable access to all.

Most tourist places are not accessible or accessible enough which makes it an arduous journey for those with reduced mobility or ability to navigate that place around.

Accessibility can be ensured by –

• Adapting to more accessible hotel rooms
• Wheelchair facilities at tourist spaces
• Accessible airport or station or bus stand navigation
• A dedicated professional staff for those with reduced mobility or ability
• Accessible eateries, restrooms and public tourist spots
• Making streets and street parking more accessible to be used by everyone
• Elevators with appropriate measurements which allows everyone to be able to use it equally
• Accessible and adjustable equipments or products for eg. — toilet raisers, adjustable drinking tap basin etc.

These simple yet significant changes can transform the tourism places into being more accessible by everyone — ensuring their self sufficiency and dignity.

Accessibility apps are mobile apps that make a device and the environment around more accessible to people with disabilities. Apps that improve the accessibility of a device or technology for people with reduced mobility and ability are known as accessibility apps.

What are some accessibility apps?

Varied kinds of apps are accessibility apps — Word processors, media players, console games, photo editors, accounting applications, and flight simulators web browsers. It refers to making products and environments more accessible to people with disabilities. Accessibility apps can also include adding features to a current version of software or hardware to make it more accessible.

A number of Accessible towns around the world use accessibility apps to ensure that those with reduced mobility live a safe life. The use of these apps has enabled them access to spaces that were previously inaccessible due to safety reasons.

For example apps that give audio cues to alert a person about entrance, exits, elevators etc. can be absolutely powerful.

In Seattle, the accessibility app — AccessMap allows the users to enter a destination and receive suggested routes based on their customisedchoices. The app also allows them to know about uphill or downhill inclines. It also gives information about sloped roads or flat roads and streets with a slope of 10% or more.

Accessibility apps can prove to be a major boost to creating accessible physical spaces enabling people with reduced or no mobility to go about their lives in an empowered and equal way.

What would seem like a normal, comfortable open space for some people might be filled with hurdles and safety concerns for other people. Whether it is the stairs, elevators, curbs, sloped streets-pedestrians with produced mobility will always find it difficult to go about their normal lives in a city that is not accessible enough.

Although accessible infrastructure is being built at a more rapid pace than ever-a lot of urban planning still is very inaccessible to those with reduced mobility, and there needs to be breakthrough changes in the architectural planning as well as adoption of universal design that offers sustainability and accessibility to each member of the community.

Accessible city would ensure that each person can take part socially, economically and are not marginalised because you’re in accessibility of the infrastructure.

Accessibility can be ensured by the following means

• Following universal design in creating and maintaining entrance, exits, common public places like sports centre, schools, libraries et cetera
• Implementing laws that allow people with reduced mobility or no mobility to utilise resources in the same manner as others.
• Accessible transport as well as social inclusion would allow these people to utilise the communities physical infrastructure as well as the opportunities offered for their benefit.
• By building wheelchair friendly offices, safe elevators, technology that helps people with reduced obility to navigate the city in a better way, building low height receptions at public spaces-all of these measures can play such a powerful role in ensuring that the most important places in the town are accessible.

In the context of accessibility, the ease with which a person can reach or use a service is essential to realise access for all. Urban and rural areas alike rely on transportation as one of their primary means of getting around. It is an avenue for socialisation; it aids in the accomplishment of economic goals and other significant day to day tasks; and it provides a ground for individuals to become truly self-sufficient and to live dignified lives.

Through the ability to navigate a city or a country in an accessible manner, accessible transportation facilitates accessible education and participation in society for people with disabilities.

Creating more accessible modes of transportation for those with limited mobility, whether it’s buses, trains, or airports, is the concept that stems from accessible transportation — making transportation more accessible for those with limited mobility. Allowing for more accessible travel on both an inter- and intra-national level.

Simple yet impactful measures can allow accessibility through transportation for example-

• People who use wheelchairs or other mobility aids, elderly people who are unable to safely climb stairs, or children will greatly benefit from a lift or ramp when boarding a bus.
• Reader boards, instructions in braille and information counters at regular intervals would help a large number of people with reduced hearing, reduced vision and reduced mobility.
• People with visual impairments or those with reduced mobility or other travellers who need assistance identifying their stop can listen to audio cues.
• By incorporating curb cuts, people who use wheelchairs or other wheeled equipment like strollers or rolling luggage will have easier access to pedestrian walkways.

People with reduced mobility or ability go through a host of problems while interacting with the environment on a daily basis. This group of people not only include those with reduced ability but also elderly, pregnant women, children and this includes a wide range of people from young to old. Reduced accessibility can prove to be a major obstacle in virtually every form of life for example at schools or educational premises, supermarkets, government offices, workplaces, hospitals and as a community it is the responsibility of everyone to ensure that not just the physical space but also the online space and the attitude of people makes the community more accessible.

Simple measures can be taken and can be applied at a number of places to ensure accessibility –

● Rams which are made of antiskid tiles that are appropriate for both wheeling and walking in all premises including schools, hospitals, government offices, banks would ensure that those with reduced mobility can access these essential places and live a dignified life.

● Accessible parking spaces play a major role in all spaces both public and private because most of the time people with reduced mobility hesitate to drive because of lack of resources and safety. Therefore accessible parking space will allow them to live life on their own terms.

● Entries and exits of any institution should be made accessible with guarding lights, tiles as well as audio cues and braille signage to ensure that a wide spectrum of people are able to access the building safely.

It is the responsibility of everyone insulting people living in the community to raise awareness as well as take measures to ensure that those around them specially people living with reduced mobility are able to live life to the fullest potential.

An all inclusive workplace or office is accessible and its definition continues to evolve as we become increasingly aware of accessibility and its related universal designs it not only is limited to physical accessibility but also includes wheelchair ramps, braille signage and accessible washrooms along with accessibility in the online space as well. Also known as web accessibility and digital accessibility in terms of communication, assistive devices etc. Behavioural awareness is also one of the very key components of accessibility. It involves that each individual through their attitude or behaviour plays a role in making sure about the self reliance of all

Benefits from an accessible workspace based on universal design measures is not just limited to one person but has a far reaching impact on all. It ensures that everyone plays an equal role in productivity and economic profits of the organisation.

Businesses benefit from accessible workplaces because they increase productivity, ensure that a larger spectrum of talent can apply for, keep, and advance in employment.

Accessibility at work place can be through –

• Physical and infrastructural accessibility — to create an accessible environment through well designed restrooms, cafeterias, work station, entrance and exit, hall way, elevators etc.
• Digital accessibility — In a largely modernised and technology kill areas — lack of digital accessibility can prove to be a major hurdle for those with reduced ability, assistive technology in terms of communications, Web accessibility, telecommunications, Software applications and operating systems, Desktop and portable computers etc. play an immense role in ensuring that those with reduced mobility and/or ability are as productive and comfortable as their counterparts!!

• Behavioural awareness-it’s the responsibility of the society to make everyone as self-reliant and self independent as possible and this comes through treating them equally. Behavioural awareness ensures that everyone including those with reduced mobility are treated with dignity such that there is absolutely no room for stereotypes or indifference.