Airlines ‘Signing’ New Ways to Make Travel More Accessible

Airport paging systems, in-flight announcements, safety instructions presented by flight attendants and the steady drone of a jet-engine aircraft. Let’s face it; for most of the traveling public, the experience of airports and airplanes is unrelentingly noisy.

Many passengers wear headphones to cancel out the sounds and distractions, but passengers who are deaf or hard of hearing have a far different challenge. To navigate the airport and the airline, they need to connect with people who know sign language – in their native tongue – or can easily access written communication.

More than 5 percent of the world’s population has some form of disabling hearing loss, according to the World Health Organization. Last month, Delta Air Lines announced that crew members who can sign will wear special pins on their uniforms that specify which sign languages they know.

“Our mission is to connect the world, which starts with making travel easier for all people,” Delta CEO Ed Bastian wrote in a post announcing the new initiative on his LinkedIn page.

Bastian noted the pins will allow deaf or hard of hearing passengers to connect with Delta team members who can sign in their language, adding,