Airlines must provide safety information to all passengers, which is why you receive the demonstration at the beginning of each flight. This is usually a video or it is performed by the crew.
Flying is so common nowadays that various people’s special requirements need to be taken care of. Since the safety demonstration and card is all visual based, what provisions are there for blind or sight impaired people?
Braille Safety Cards
Safety instructions are provided on special Braille cards for those people. Japan Airlines provide them and they appear to be aircraft specific, which makes sense to me.
On the other hand, American Airlines seem to have a one card fits all approach. You can see below that a bunch of aircraft types are all included on the same document.
What happens if someone is unable to read Braille? Over at KLM, they provide a verbal demonstration which tells the person where they are sitting, how close and where the nearest exit is, and sometimes use the demonstration kit to let them know by touch.
Overall Thoughts
Not having any sight impairment means I had never really considered what provisions are made for those who are unable to see. These types of cards have been available for the blind for quite some time. One image I saw was a card from PSA, which hasn’t existed for quite some time.
There are numerous other ways airlines support passengers with disabilities. Japan Airlines has a really good web page which shows some of the options, such as communications boards and even body support belts for those unable to sit upright. Fascinating stuff!
Have you ever needed to use any of the special items provided for people on board? Thank you for reading and if you have any comments or questions, please leave them below.
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Featured image via Memorialleaf.com
Japan Airlines cards via Japan Airlines.
American Airlines card image via Picclick.
