Saudia launches new service for passengers with disabilities

JEDDAH — Saudi Arabian Airlines on Sunday launched a new service for people with disabilities, enabling them to access all services of the national carrier, including the discount granted to the disabled through an electronic platform without the need to go to the sale offices. The service was inaugurated in cooperation with the Ministry of Labor and Social Development and the e-Government Program Yesser, which works as a link among government agencies in their e-transition journey.

The new Saudia service was launched at a ceremony held at the headquarters of the Ministry of Labor and Social Development in the presence of Minister of Labor and Social Development Ahmed Al-Rajhi; Director General of Saudia Saleh Al-Jasser; Deputy Minister of Labor for Social Development Majed Al-Ghanimi; Assistant Minister of Labor and Social Development Muhammad Al-Jasser; Undersecretary for Social Welfare and Family Dr. Abdullah Al-Wohaibi, CEO of the Authority for the Care of People with Disabilities Dr. Hisham Al-Haidari; and Director General of the Yesserr Program Ali Asiri, and several other officials.

The people with disability can have access to the link of the Saudia through the website of the Ministry of Labor and Social Development via the Yesser program and Alam portal. The access to Saudia’s guest information allows them to complete the procedures of ticket reservation and issuance of ticket, and access to all services without the need for additional time to fill in the data and review by the sales staff.

Persons with disabilities can enjoy all Saudia services, including the discount offered through the Saudia reservation website (www.saudia.com) via an access to the special discount page with entering their ID details, date of birth and expiry date to check the guest’s eligibility for the discounted rate. Then, they can complete the booking, purchase and get issued the ticket, as well as additional services such as wheelchairs or reception assistance on arrival as well as many types of special meals that can be requested by the guest without any extra charge.

Saudia Director General Saleh Al-Jasser stressed the keenness of the national carrier to provide the best services for people with disabilities with improving and simplifying the travel procedures so as to enable them enjoy more comfortable travel on board Saudia flights. Al-Jasser highlighted the significance of the partnership and cooperation between Saudi Arabian Airlines, Ministry of Labor and Social Development, Yesser and Alam Company to accomplish this initiative, saying that this is of great importance as it is concerned with serving a precious segment of society specially in the context of digital transformation, which is a strategic objective of the national carrier.

Saudia already makes available wheelchairs at every airport that it operates. Some airports have jet-bridges while others have special equipment like mobile lift to board customers who cannot or may require assistance in climbing stairs. There are different types of wheelchair assistance service for passengers who require wheelchair assistance as they can climb stairs, but cannot walk long distances as well as for passengers who cannot climb stairs and for passengers who are completely immobile.

In order to help passengers with disabilities at the airport, the airline provides counters for their reception and the necessary services in all major stations. Saudia provides mobile cranes to escalate and land passengers with disabilities from the aircraft. There are a number of selected seats with movable armrests. These enable wheelchair passengers to move and transfer more easily from the aisle into their seats. These include a specially designed onboard wheelchair for in-flight usage. The wheelchair is used to help passengers with disabilities move around the cabin and go to and from the lavatory in ease and comfort.