Virgin atlantic launches autism training for staff
Shaun Heasley reported for Disability Scoop earlier this month Virgin Atlantic is training its staff on how best to interact with autistic passengers. The airline is working with accessible travel organization Autism Double-Checked in organizing this effort.
“Just ahead of the summer travel season, another airline is taking steps to be more welcoming toward travelers on the spectrum,” Heasley wrote on May 15. “Virgin Atlantic says that it will train all of its cabin crew on how to support individuals with autism and their families.”
Virgin Atlantic staff are expected to “complete two digital learning modules with information about autism generally and about identifying signs that an individual is distressed or overwhelmed,” with Heasley adding the training also will “provide guidance on how to adapt communication styles depending on a person’s needs and how to offer reassurance and support.” Moreover, Virgin Atlantic plans to extend the autism training to its consumer-facing ground crew such as gate agents and more.
“We know that for autistic customers and their families, flying can be a unique and unfamiliar environment which presents challenges,” said Becky Woodmansee, chief people officer at Virgin Atlantic. “By listening to our customers and working with autism travel specialists Autism Double-Checked, alongside our own people who have personal experience of autism, we’ve built a training programme that gives every crew member the understanding and confidence to make a real difference onboard.”
It’s good to see air travel become increasingly accessible to people with disabilities, and airline accessibility is a topic I’ve covered in the past. In my story earlier this week on the literal inaccessibility of premium seats at sporting events, I made parenthetical reference to how flying first class is, or can be, a de-facto accessibility feature for people. The majority of flights I’ve been on in the last several years have been riding first class; it isn’t about vanity or prestige for me—it’s about accessibility. To wit, as someone who copes with both low vision and cerebral palsy, it’s far easier for me to step onto the plane, make a quick turn, and immediately find my seat in one of the first few rows. By contrast, walking deeper into the bowels of the craft gives me anxiety because it’s harder to distinguish the rows and find my correct section, not to mention the extra steps it requires. Like courtside seats at an NBA game, first class seats are worth their weight in gold in terms of better accessibility. They both are more expensive because you get closer access, but they both provide actual practical utility to me as a disabled person that has nothing to do with bragging rights or whatever.
According to Heasley, Virgin Atlantic isn’t doing anything revolutionary. He noted Breezy Airlines instituted autism-friendly practices in 2022, while Emirates announced last year it trained 30,000 cabin crew and ground staff on serving autistic passengers.
