Business Travelers With Disabilities Face a Pervasive Lack of Accessibility
Photo Credit: Travelers walk through a terminal at Chicago O'Hare International Airport. Flickr / Ali Eminov
Skift Take
Despite the growing number of people with disabilities in the United States, it's still a challenge to find clear information about accessibility while traveling. This may make traveling so difficult for employees with disabilities that many choose to do it as little as possible.
Business travel is often exhausting and tedious, as travelers cope with being away from home, navigating airport security lines, and the stress of living out of a suitcase.
Travelers who have disabilities face an extra set of problems on top of this, since a lack of information about accessibility at airports, hotels, and car services can turn an average work trip into a gamble.
Michael Swiatek, chief strategy and planning officer for Avianca, has worked in the airline industry for over 25 years and spends part of his time raising awareness about the importance of accessibility in travel. Swiatek, who is legally blind, travels frequently for work and believes that the lack of attention paid to accessibility is the main reason business travel can be such a hurdle for many people.
About 26 percent of people in the United States are l
