Swiss International Air Lines (SWISS) makes its air travel services as available to its customers as it possibly can. This policy applies to all its online facilities, too: the core functions of the swiss.com website have now been made fully accessible to blind and visually impaired users or customers with other physical disabilities. SWISS has thus extended the accessibility of its services at the airport and inflight to its online platform, too.
The core functions of the swiss.com website have been comprehensively overhauled to make them accessible to all. As a result, blind and visually impaired users and those with other physical disabilities can now easily book, rebook or check in for their flights online. The blind and visually impaired, for instance, can use screen reader software to have text read aloud to them, and can navigate the site more easily via their keyboard entries.
The fully accessible part of the swiss.com website already meets the AA standard of Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.0. And the entire site should meet this standard by the end of 2016.
The revised swiss.com website further expands SWISS’s range of services for customers with restricted mobility. On the ground, specially trained staff continue to be available to provide these travellers with the additional care they need. SWISS offers escorts for both departing and arriving travellers, along with the free use at the airport of wheelchairs and transport vehicles.
Travellers with restricted mobility are also invited to board and deplane before other passengers; and up to two wheelchairs and an assistance dog will be transported free of charge. SWISS also provides a wheelchair on board on all its long-haul flights and (on request) for its short-haul services, too. And SWISS cabin personnel are sensitized to the special needs of travellers with restricted mobility, to ensure that they are offered optimum care and assistance throughout their time aboard.
