Arrange airport communication support for hearing or sight needs

Describe the communication task clearly

Explain whether you need information written down, spoken directly, provided in an accessible format or delivered through another supported method. Include any preferences about how staff should introduce themselves or guide you. You do not need to assume that every person with a similar impairment wants the same assistance; make the request specific to your own journey.

British Airways’ request page includes support for people who are D/deaf or hard of hearing and people who are blind or have low vision. Read the carrier’s available options and ask questions where they do not describe your needs. Keep the confirmed request in a form you can access independently and share the necessary details with your travelling companion if you want them involved.

Check facilities without assuming complete coverage

Heathrow’s help-in-the-terminal page describes facilities including induction loops and accessible assistance points. Check the relevant airport’s map and information for the locations you will use. Ask whether the available facility supports your own equipment or communication method rather than assuming the presence of a symbol settles compatibility.

If you use a phone to enlarge, read or receive information, prepare its accessibility settings and necessary offline material before travel. Keep a suitable charging arrangement available under airline rules. Have another workable way to communicate a short request if the device is temporarily unavailable. This might be a written card or a familiar method chosen by you, not an unfamiliar app introduced at the airport.

Agree how changes and briefings will reach you

Ask where you should wait and how staff will notify you when boarding begins or the gate changes. If the arrangement includes someone returning to collect you, confirm the meeting point and what to do if that person does not appear. Avoid relying on an announcement you have already explained you cannot access reliably.

Tell the cabin crew about the relevant communication preference at boarding and ask about an individual safety briefing or other available support. Follow the airline’s process and clarify any instruction you do not understand. A companion may help with communication if you choose, but the request should still reflect how you want the crew and airport staff to address you directly.

If a waiting-area seat changes, tell the team expected to contact you rather than assuming they will recognise your new location. Agree a specific landmark or seat area when that makes the handover easier to describe accurately.

Keep the same plan through connections and arrival

Confirm communication support for each airport and airline team, including the return journey. If a flight changes, ask the carrier to check that the request remains attached to the revised booking. Save contact methods you can actually use; a telephone-only number may not be a practical fallback for every traveller.

On arrival, check how you will receive directions to baggage, the assistance handover or the onward meeting point. If support differs from the agreement, describe the missing communication task and ask for it to be resolved. Keep a factual note for follow-up if needed. A document organiser is helpful when it makes your preferences and confirmations easy to present, while preserving your own control over what information is shared.

Your next steps

• Describe your preferred way to receive information.
• Check the actual airport facilities and compatibility.
• Agree how gate changes and briefings will be communicated.
• Confirm handovers and accessible contact methods throughout.

Keep planning

• Arrange family seats around who needs to sit together
• Plan an airport visit around your sensory needs
• Plan airport assistance for the whole journey
• Take a pushchair through the airport and hand it over clearly