Welcome back! If you read Part One and Part Two of my European vacation series, you’ll know that my trip involved flying from Texas to see family in Germany. For this final post in the series, we’ll pick things up at the end of my German vacation as I prepare to head back home.
Let’s get started!
Navigating the Frankfurt airport
After fifteen days in Germany, I was ready for home and my own pillow! I enjoyed my stay—the forest walks, museum tours, bakery finds—but there is nothing like home.
The hardest part of the entire trip back was finding the airline ticket counter at the Frankfurt airport, and this was with three sighted family members guiding me along! The Frankfurt airport is an exceptionally large and complex set of buildings that seems to never end. With a little patience, however, we found the counter, and I checked in, received a hard-copy boarding pass, and checked my luggage.
Meeting my airport assistant
I was directed to a seat and given an exact time when an airport assistant would show up to collect me for the German version of TSA. In true German style, a nice lady showed up at exactly 12:30 pm. I said my goodbyes to my family, and I was off to security.
Luckily for me, the security clearance went smoothly. I was then escorted to a lower-level waiting room for what I was told would be the departure point for my trip on a bus to get me to the airplane. Not expecting this piece of the puzzle, I sat back, relaxed, and waited for my bus journey.
Unlike in the US, the airport assistant stayed with me the entire time to ensure a smooth transition from terminal to bus to airplane. I was driven over the tarmac to the airplane, where I ascended a fairly long set of metal steps. At the top, I was greeted by airline staff and shown to my seat.
Entering “The Cube!”
This was my first time flying business class, so the “The Cube” (as I call it) was a new concept for me. It had a doorway and walls, enclosing me in this little pod for what was going to be a ten-hour journey.
It took me a while to explore my options and understand my surroundings. It was clear things were configured for maximal space usage, but it was a bit tricky getting acclimated. Flight attendants helped a bit to orient me, but I was left to explore a good bit on my own. Fortunately for me, there was once again a good Samaritan nearby—one cube over, in this case. (You can read about my helpful travel-mate from my first flight in Part Two of this series.) They helped me discover some of the interesting features of my surroundings, like the seat controls and the neatly stowed footstool in front of me.
I was able to master the seat controls—master may be a strong word here—after some experimentation and some patience. While seated, the controls were activated by a long, smooth plastic strip mounted flush to the side of the console at my right, down by my thigh. There were no tactile indicators for forward or backward motion. My “cube-mate” pointed out where the controls were located, but they couldn’t really see them while I was seated, so I had to just start pressing along the plastic strip until I got some form of motion. Needless to say, I did not move my seat much, but I did eventually get it semi-reclined for a nice long nap. In my opinion, this design really needs to be rethought. Honestly, I don’t know how any first-time user, even with 20/20 vision, would be able to see the labels.
I feel that the touch panel-based system is over-engineered. It’s inconvenient and hard to use for any traveler, regardless of whether they have a disability or not. The space of the business-class pod had plenty of options for alternative mounting of seat controls, especially if they were also tactile in nature.
More encounters with the in-flight entertainment system
In my Part Two post, I discussed the In-Flight Entertainment (IFE) system on my outbound flight:
“What I did not realize until my seatmate pointed it out was that the call button for assistance was not a physical button on the seat arm or overhead but a control on the touchscreen. Being blind, how was I supposed to find it?”
As it turned out, the IFE in my business class cube was the same unit I had when I flew premium economy from Texas to Germany. This presumably meant no access to a flight attendant unless I got up, or asked my cube-mate for assistance, which would have been challenging, given that they were across the aisle in their own pod, as opposed to simply sitting in a seat next to me.
Thankfully, it turned out that being in business class meant a higher frequency of flight attendant visits—checking in on me or bringing me food or a drink—so I didn’t have to worry too much about asking for help. The middle part of the flight, where it’s presumed we’re all sleeping, can be a little nerve-racking because the check-ins don’t happen as often. But I was able to relax and enjoy the flight without any issues.
Home!
After two great meals, a long nap, and time spent reading, we landed back in Texas, and I was home safe!
The process to deplane, collect luggage, process through immigration, and get out to an Uber was smooth and easy, thanks to a great airport assistant who was with me the entire way. As I discussed in my previous posts, this is one area where travelers with a disability can have a wide range of experiences.
On the one hand, having direct, one-to-one assistance is really great. But if that individual hasn’t had proper training, isn’t with you the entire way, or isn’t able to personalize their support to accommodate your particular needs, it can cause problems.
I was grateful to have had good escorts on both sides of my trip, and I was especially impressed with the assistance I received at the Frankfurt airport.
The entire journey provided me with wonderful new experiences. It also provoked many thoughts and questions, which I’ll expand on below.
Thoughts and questions about traveling internationally as a person with a disability
As our world continues to shrink and our interactions continue to move from local to global, I have some big questions about the future of global accessibility:
- How will the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and the European Accessibility Act (EAA) work together to provide accessible solutions to people with disabilities for travel and transactions that are of a global nature?
- Will the blindness community be heard when it comes to proposed new regulations for the airline industry in the US and abroad?
- Will the two big aircraft manufacturers begin to proactively design for the 25% living with a disability? Or will they do the minimum required to meet regulatory standards?
- While both the US-based Air Carrier Accessibility Act (ACAA) and the EU-based 1107/2006 regulations talk about making new aircraft designs more accessible to people with disabilities, is the commitment there to apply that to all aspects of the aircraft experience?
Those are big questions, but progress is often about smaller, more targeted efforts. Here are a few ideas I’ve been thinking about. I’ll start with the US.
Accessibility opportunities for US-based airlines
Accessible IFE
In the US, the ADA and the ACAA seem to encourage updates to all aspects of aircraft design, and accessible IFE has been successfully demonstrated by US-based airlines like United. You can learn more about this by visiting the United website and reading about their accessible IFE. They highlight features such as text-to-speech mode, audio descriptions and closed captions, high-contrast text, explore-by-touch, color correction, and more.
Braille labeling
Braille labeling of seat rows is another aspect needing stricter guidance for new aircraft designs. If I need to use the facilities on a long trip, I should be able to independently undertake the trek to and from the restrooms. Braille labeling makes this possible, and implementing this feature should easily be doable. In my experience, labeling of hotel room numbers is already almost perfect for most large US-based hotels. All new aircraft designs ought to be able to incorporate this same level of access for seat rows. Labels can be affixed either on the edge of the seat or the lower edge of the overhead bin. Once again, United has been a leader in this regard, but it’s a very recent change. It was only in 2023 that United became the first US airline to add Braille to aircraft interiors. You can learn more about this in United’s press release.
Seat belt signs
While we are talking about modifications to new aircraft designs, the seat belt sign is an especially important indicator to monitor when flying. Unfortunately, when its status changes, it only plays a chime to get your attention so you can be alerted to look up at the change. If you only hear the sound, there’s no way to know what the alert is about. This is a very out-of-date way to convey information in an inclusive manner. The status change needs to ding and say, “Please fasten your seat belt.”
Travel accessibility in the EU
IFE systems
EU regulations are a bit trickier when it comes to figuring out the responsibilities of aircraft manufacturers. While sections of EU 1107/2006 that cover accessible travel say new aircraft are to incorporate designs inclusive of disabled passengers, EAA (2019/882) has an exemption for interactive self-service terminals that are “installed as integrated parts of” aircraft—which can be interpreted to exempt IFE systems. I find this exemption disappointing since it could have been clearer to point out differences in requirements between passenger-facing and pilot-facing systems.
Braille labeling
As in the US, there is progress on this front. Braille is increasingly present in airports but has yet to be uniformly implemented on EU-based aircraft. An article from the European Blind Union highlights the use of Braille at certain airports. For example:
- At Athens International Airport, “the information at all Call Points is communicated in specific color contrast, big font sizes, and in Braille format, enabling full accessibility. The brochure on the provision of assistance is also available in Braille format (Greek and English language).
- At Warsaw Chopin Airport, “typhlographic plans (with convex lines representing the walls, paths, symbols and objects, descriptions in Braille, and buttons that can be pressed to receive voice messages in Polish and English) allow the location of entrances and exits, check-in counters, security checkpoints, stairs, lifts, and toilets. All descriptions are printed in Braille.”
Conclusion
With the European Accessibility Act (EAA) becoming law in the EU on June 28, 2025, both US and EU-based organizations working in the travel industry will need to be ready. It’s essential to understand that the EAA impacts any organization doing business in the EU—regardless of location. Companies that provide travel to the EU—including US-based companies—need to evaluate their business for risk to ensure they understand the implications of this new law.
For more about the far-reaching impact of the EAA, make sure to get Deque’s new resource: Prepare your business for the European Accessibility Act. This expert guide presents a three-phase approach for organizations to educate, equip, and enable their teams to get compliant by the EAA deadline.
Remember, one in four travelers who fly has some form of a disability. This is an exceptionally large market that needs to be taken into consideration by airlines, aircraft manufacturers, and the airport management industry. A great deal of work has already been put in place to provide inclusive travel experiences. Let’s keep building on that by collaborating, continuing the conversation, and raising concerns when we encounter them.
With a little patience and awareness, we can make great progress. The sky’s (literally) the limit!