Icelandair's Accessibility Plan and feedback process

We’re committed to providing equal access to travel and related services across the world. The creation of this inaugural Accessibility Plan highlights our commitment to working with diverse groups of individuals, including those with disabilities guided by the goals established in the ACA, the Accessible Canada Act.

Link to the ACA: https://laws-lois.justice.gc.ca/eng/acts/a-0.6/

We are steadfast in our commitment to providing equal service for all, which aligns with our aim of consistently delivering smooth and enjoyable journeys to all our customers. Throughout the years we’ve collaborated with our employees, customers as well as the Icelandic Disability Alliance to identify, remove, and monitor barriers that may affect our customers with disabilities.

We’re dedicated to creating an environment that is accessible to everyone. We achieve this by deploying technology to monitor, analyze, and document input from our customers, employees, and disability groups.

The Accessible Canada Act

The Accessible Canada Act aims to establish a Canada without barriers by January 1, 2040. This is to be achieved by proactively identifying, eliminating, and preventing accessibility barriers in areas under federal jurisdiction, wherever Canadians interact. The ACA officially came into effect on July 11, 2019.

According to the “Accessible Transportation for Persons with Disabilities Regulations”, you have the right to certain accommodations and services. You can learn mora bout the ACA on the Canadian governments website: https://laws-lois.justice.gc.ca/eng/regulations/SOR-2019-244/FullText.html

Icelandair is dedicated to ensuring an accessible environment for both our customers and employees. This includes individuals with various disabilities, such as mobility, hearing, visual, and cognitive limitations. We will regularly evaluate and improve our policies, procedures, and facilities to ensure inclusion for all individuals.

General information regarding accessible travel with Icelandair may be found at https://www.icelandair.com/support/special-assistance/.  

We incorporated the principles provided in Section 6 of the ACA while developing our accessibility plan: 

1. All persons must be treated with dignity regardless of their disabilities.
2. All persons must have the same opportunity to make for themselves the lives that they are able and wish to have regardless of their disabilities.
3. All persons must have barrier-free access to full and equal participation in society, regardless of their disabilities.
4. All persons must have meaningful options and be free to make their own choices, with support if they desire, regardless of their disabilities.
5. Laws, policies, programs, services, and structures must consider the disabilities of persons, the different ways that persons interact with their environments, and the multiple and intersecting forms of marginalization and discrimination faced by persons.
6. Persons with disabilities must be involved in the development and design of laws, policies, programs, services, and structures.
7. The development and revision of accessibility standards and the making of regulations must be done to achieve the highest level of accessibility for persons with disabilities.

More information on the accessible travel options provided by our Canadian partner airports: 

Toronto: Accessibility Services and Facilities | Pearson Airport (torontopearson.com)

Vancouver: Accessibility at YVR | YVR

Halifax: Accessibility - Halifax Stanfield International Airport

Feedback Process and Contact information

We’re committed to an inclusive and accessible travel experience for all, actively seeking feedback from customers, employees, stakeholders, and the public. We highly value the lived experiences of individuals with disabilities and believe that continuous input from our customers with disabilities is essential for enhancing the accessibility of our services. Recognizing that a barrier-free travel experience requires active involvement and feedback from the public and disabled communities, we are committed to listening and considering all feedback related to our plan, feedback process, progress reports, or any other issues that may arise.

Feedback is welcomed and can be provided through the following channels:

Mail

For written feedback on accessibility barriers or our Accessibility Plan, kindly address your letter to:

Johanna Harpa Arnadottir

Sustainability, Icelandair

Reykjavik Airport

102 Reykjavik

Iceland

Email

For electronic feedback, please email us at

[email protected]

Phone

To share your feedback by phone, including anonymously, call us at: + 354 50 50 596

Our commitment to enhancing accessibility is a continuous journey that involves dialogue and consultation with stakeholders. To address this, we’ve established the Icelandair Accessibility Working Group, which consists of members from various departments, to steer the development of our initial Accessibility Plan. This group is dynamic, with plans to expand as the project grows. 

Informed by feedback from our valued customers and insights from the Icelandic Disability Alliance, the Working Group has begun identifying and addressing existing barriers. 

Our efforts to advance our accessibility journey include: 

• The formation of a dedicated accessibility committee, tasked with assessing our Accessibility Plan’s progress.

• Strengthening our relationships with the Disability Alliance and their member associations.

• Holding consultation sessions and individual interviews with people who identify as having disabilities.

We're dedicated to understanding and dismantling the barriers our customers and employees face, and we look forward to your participation in creating a travel experience that everyone can enjoy.

Our built environment is diverse, spanning office buildings, aircraft hangars and airport terminals. We’re devoted to crafting an accessible travel experience and are constantly enhancing the accessibility of our facilities, including our aircraft interiors, signage, and check-in procedures. 

Operating across numerous  international airports, we actively collaborate to tackle unique accessibility challenges, striving to enact meaningful improvements informed by the feedback from our customers and employees. Other airlines share in this commitment, emphasizing the importance of ensuring accessible built environments for people with disabilities.  

We ensure compliance with accessibility standards on board our aircraft and in our diverse workplaces, promoting flexibility through a work-at-home policy and providing guidance for adapting workstations to meet the diverse needs of our team. 

We are committed to ensuring that our workplace is accessible to all employees, including those with disabilities. Our facilities, equipment, and communication channels are designed to accommodate the needs of individuals with disabilities, in accordance with relevant accessibility standards. 

At Icelandair, we acknowledge the importance of ensuring accessibility for all in our telecommunication systems, computer systems, networks, including our website, and mobile app. 

Our commitment extends to employees, assessing better incorporation of digital accessibility.  

We guarantee that communication with our passengers is easily accessible through various channels, such as phone, mail, social media, chat, or an online form. Additionally, communication can be conducted in the official language chosen by the passenger. 

Individuals who are deaf, hard of hearing, or have a speech impediment can reach out to us for any past or future travel-related inquiries by utilizing relay services. 

Our website complies with WCAG 2.0 Level AA accessibility standards, ensuring consistent and easily accessible navigation and presentation mechanisms. Notably, text can be enlarged to 200% without any loss of readability, and information is not solely conveyed through color.

We strive for continual innovation, setting ambitious standards to lead in making air travel accessible for everyone. 

Icelandair is committed to improving interactions with both passengers and employees by addressing communication-related barriers. Our goal is to deliver information and advertise our products and services in the most accessible manner possible. This dedication extends to conveying information through various accessible channels and consulting individuals with disabilities to determine the most effective means of communication across all aspects of our services. 

Our commitment to accessibility extends to the procurement of goods, services, and facilities. Aligned with our Supplier Code of Conduct, we emphasize fair, transparent, and responsible procurement practices, guided by the interests of Icelandair as a whole. Our objective is to be a role model, integrating sustainability into our supply chain and promoting positive social impact. 

As part of this commitment, we encourage diversity among our business partners, seeking suppliers who align with our accessibility expectations. We continuously review and enhance our procurement policies, processes, and tools to foster an environment where all suppliers, including those with disabilities, feel confident participating in our procurement processes. 

Icelandair is committed to the inclusive and accessible design and delivery of our programs and services. We continually strive to ensure that our program delivery is as inclusive and accessible as our work environment itself. 

In the development of our training program for front-line employees, we sought expertise from Medaire, an organization specializing in services for individuals with disabilities. We’re now crafting comprehensive training programs for all departments and will incorporate recommendations from the Icelandic Disability Alliance. 

Amidst the current labor shortage challenge, it's crucial for us to collaborate with our service providers to ensure that accessibility training is not only continuous but also completed in a timely manner. 

To further standardize services for passengers with disabilities, Icelandair and its external partners routinely utilize IATA service codes. 

Ensuring smooth travel for everyone is a core part of our service. Recognizing and addressing barriers that our employees and customers face, we strive to exceed the accessibility expectations set by the ACA. 

Collaboration is key to enhancing the accessibility of our aircraft and the safe transport of mobility aids. We aim for our facilities to be welcoming to all, consistently in line with regulations. 

Meaningful travel experiences come with accessible options, and we're continually refining our products and services to meet this goal. 

Dedicated to inclusivity, we extend our support to every passenger. Detailed information on the assistance we offer is available at Icelandair Special Assistance: https://www.icelandair.com/support/special-assistance/

Icelandair is subject to the following provisions: 

• Part 2 of the Accessible Transportation for Persons with Disabilities Regulations 
• Accessible Canada Act  
• Canada Transportation Act  
• Accessible Transportation Planning and Reporting Regulations 
• Air Passenger Protection Regulations 
• Air Transportation Regulations