Delta Boosts Accessibility For Travelers With Disabilities

A major U.S. airline is updating one of its most popular in-flight features in an effort to improve accessibility for people with disabilities.

Delta Air Lines introduces a new flight map that offers high-contrast images, a colorblind palette, large text and icons, clearer labels and the ability to zoom and pan.

“No one connects the world better than Delta,” said Ekrem Dimbiloglu, general manager of customer experience for inflight entertainment, Delta Studio and Wi-Fi. “To truly deliver on that promise, we must ensure that every customer can connect with their journey in a way that enhances their experience and makes them feel valued and cared for. “We are proud to be the first airline to launch this technology, setting the standard for inclusive travel experiences across the industry.”

Delta said the updated map will be available on most of its 165,000 seatback screens.

The flight map is the most popular in-flight entertainment offering, the airline said, with 45% of travelers interacting with it.

To develop a more accessible map, Delta officials said they worked with its in-flight map provider FlightPath3D and the airline’s disability advisory council.

“It’s exciting as a visually impaired person that Delta is making the flight map more accessible to users with low vision,” said Thomas Panek, chair of Delta’s Disability Advisory Council and president of Guiding Eyes for the Blind. “By making flight maps more accessible to users with low vision, Delta is improving the experience for all travelers.”

In addition to improving visual accessibility, the airline said it plans to add voice narration to future versions of its flight map, providing audio updates of arrival times, points of interest and more.