An estimated 200 million people worldwide have intellectual disability (2.6% of the global population) and many are avid travellers, and yet many travel providers are not aware that there is a special code to assist them on their journey.
It is with the aim to create more awareness and encourage greater support for the DPNA Special Service Request (SSR) code that is behind the global campaign launched by Travelport today.
The DNPA SSR code (Disabled Passenger with Intellectual or Developmental Disability Needing Assistance) was introduced by the International Air Transport Association (IATA) to assist persons with intellectual and developmental disabilities. Travel service providers such as agents can use the code to alert airlines when these passengers need assistance.
The technology company said it discovered “exceptionally low” use of the code on bookings made through its global distribution system (GDS), leading to the initiative to start the campaign.
Last year, with more 250 million flight bookings made through its GDS globally the code was used just 4,309 times (approximately 0.0015% of total flight bookings). A polls of 136 agent conducted by Travelport revealed only 24% know the code exists.
(Image credit Special Olympics World Games 2019)
Travelport said its six-month long campaign is tied to the Special Olympics World Summer Games 2019 in Abu Dhabi, UAE, from March 14-21 that celebrates the abilities and accomplishments of people with intellectual disabilities and aims to foster a new global vision of acceptance. The event will feature 7,000 athletes representing a record 170 countries .
Travelport targets the campaign to reach more than 100,000 travel agents in over 30 countries. It features electronic direct mails (EDMs) as well as ‘sign on alerts’ and graphical ‘prompts’ delivered through the Travelport Smartpoint tool, which is used by travel agents to search and book airline seats, hotel rooms and more.
The EDMs and ‘sign on alerts’ are shown to its travel agent partners globally, while the ‘prompts’ are activated when a consultant is at the booking stage of a flight to over 30 of the most popular destinations such as London, Sydney, New Delhi or for any flight booked to or from the UAE.
Gordon Wilson: Hope campaign will make a difference in the travel industry. (Image credit: Travelport)
Travelport has created a campaign webpage, which provides guidance for travel agents on talking to travellers about intellectual disabilities and associated assistance.
The digital media used to reach travel agents during the campaign is typically sold by Travelport to travel providers, like airlines and hotels, as advertising space. The company has allocated over US$100,000 worth of slots for the DPNA SSR code awareness campaign, which will run until August 31, 2019.
“Travel can be a particularly challenging time for people who require special assistance, so once we discovered such low use of the DPNA SSR code, we decided to take action,” Gordon Wilson, president and chief executive officer of Travelport, explained.
“We hope this campaign will not only make a difference in the travel industry but act as a catalyst for other organisations to investigate how their industry or the industry they serve can better support people with intellectual disabilities and make improvements where needed.”
Linda Ristagno, external affairs manager at IATA, called all member airlines and travel agents “to properly use this and all the other IATA disability codes to ensure that the appropriate support to our valued passengers is provided.”
Linda Celestino, vice president, guest service and delivery of Etihad Airways, the official airline partner of the Special Olympics World Summer Games 2019, welcomed the move to create more visibilty and support for the use of DPNA SSR code. “In preparation for Special Olympics team travel across the Etihad network, our teams have received additional training on how to best support guests with intellectual disabilities.”
Dr. Yousef Al Hammadi, chief intelligence officer at Special Olympics World Games Abu Dhabi 2019, commended companies like Travelport in “getting inspired by the values of the Special Olympics movement and creating innovative solutions to help improve everyday experiences and quality of life for People of Determination.”
• Featured image credit: Manuel-F-O/ Getty Images
