Has it ever happened to you that someone was surprised by something that seemed normal to you?
Flying on an airplane…
You know how it’s done?
You guessed it, through the air… 😁
I’m a big fan of local walks, but also of travels abroad, and every time I tell someone something, the question comes:
Okay, okay… but how do you travel? How do you get to X place?
I respond – by means of transportation, 😊 most often by airplane.
Another question mark, how do you manage with boarding, disembarking?
And then the storytelling begins:
The steps of a journey:
1. **Buying the Ticket Early** – If I know how long the trip or vacation will last, I buy a round-trip ticket… because right now, mmmm, Romanian salary… 😊 and here I don’t mean to complain, 😊 just highlighting a way to save 😁
The difference between the price of a ticket bought a month before the flight day and one bought a day before departure can cover the cost of a ticket to another destination. 😊
2. **Choosing Optional Services** – When buying the ticket, you can opt for some facilities, most of which come at a cost: priority boarding, seating preferences, etc.
Personal assistance should be included in this list or is recommended, but since this service is legally free, surprisingly, not all airlines let you check it when buying the ticket. This leads to step three.
3. **Contacting Airport Assistance** – 48 hours before my flight, I need to call the airport’s assistance desk to provide some identification details so they can accommodate me and my need for personal assistance.
4. **Usual Check-In** – Then, as usual, I check in.
5. **Arriving Early at the Airport** – I arrive at the airport two hours before departure and go to the assistance desk.
There, an employee takes over and accompanies me through the customs control process. We start with baggage drop-off, if I have any. This person assists me until I board the plane.
6. **In-Flight Assistance** – Once I’m on the aircraft, the flight attendants attend to my needs.
7. **Post-Flight Assistance** – After disembarking, an employee from the assistance office at the destination airport picks me up and stays with me until I reach the arrivals waiting area, where my people are waiting for me. 😊
This is how a flight journey typically unfolds when you are visually impaired or have another disability and need assistance, with specific requirements such as needing a wheelchair, etc.
And you might tell me that there are visually impaired people who travel alone, using a white cane or a guide dog.
You’re right, however, in too few airports are there orientation markers for the visually impaired, such as tactile maps of the airport, routes marked with tactile or audio guides, etc. And certainly, the few that are accessible do not include Romanian airports. 😊
#Accessibility_is_not_a_luxury; it’s a chance at independence, even during travel.
