How to Manage Airport Travel Effectively When You are Visually Challenged?

I am an accessibility specialist; hence, I get the opportunity for traveling around the globe for many events like exhibits and conferences. Travel is undoubtedly one of the most rewarding and fun parts of my job. It has allowed me to experience local culture and experience the cities that I otherwise may not have been able to. Through all the hardships I faced as a blind traveler, I have now become seasoned by necessity. Over time, I came to develop various tricks and skills to navigate through airports and many unfamiliar areas. In this guest post, I have chosen to offer a few ideas and antidotes for travel that are airport based. On all that I have learned over a few years from my personal and business journey, I intend to share a lot. Before I share, it is worth reminding all my readers here that the ideas and tips are merely my methods for independent travel. Your level of comfort, common sense, mobility experience may dictate whether the situations are suitable for your circumstances. Journey, after all, is not a precise science always.

Ask or not ask for assistance

Much of what I will discuss today, regarding efficient and independent travel is about whether you can request for help or not. I am referring to a motorized cart, an escort or other transportation means from one gate of the airport to another. When I was tripping for the first time, I accepted anything that the airline offered in the interest of laziness, time, and various other factors. However, as time passed by, I concluded that the so-called assistance was causing less enjoyable and more harm. However, I would like to put aside by philosophical arguments involving blindness at one end and concentrate on the experience of travel I had when I grabbed the southwest airline deals. With Southwest, I used the link of “special assistance” on the payment and passenger info page. I was immediately directed to the policy details for assisting passengers like us. I clicked on “continue” and then completed the process of booking.

Traveling self sufficiently

Well, everyone wants to move self-sufficiently, and the alternative for that is not to seek assistance from anyone. However, going to do any of the things alone can be extremely daunting. Hence, I assure you that with southwest airline deals, you can make the most of your travel. That is because I was able to rent a car, hotel, and flight at one go. I selected “manage reservations” from the column of “flight” and put in the necessary details. With stellar facilities presented by the airlines, I realized the numerous benefits. These benefits have made the experience a lot manageable.

Attempting to learn about the airport

You can gain a lot of traveling independence before stepping foot inside the airport. With southwest airline deals, I managed to make the most of their disability-related needs for travel. However, in case I chose a different airline, I always try learning about the layout of the airport. Wikipedia can help you out as it provides tidbits related to the gates present in every concourse. If I have to go through a connecting airport, then I always plan to have additional time at hand for scoping out the website of the airport for the restaurant’s guide. Many sites of the airport include specific information related to the nearest gate that leads to a restaurant. Various review sites can also offer additional clues. Another thing I do is maintaining easier access to gate information and flight numbers, so I aware where I would have to head after passing security checks.

The checking in

If you can obtain the boarding pass before airport arrival, it is the best thing. I am happy that I chose southwest airline deals because they have everything right under their fingertips. The airline launches the use of their free pass of boarding. It enables the customers to pass through the security and board of the aircraft by merely using their mobiles. So, what I do is I check-in for my flight at least an hour before the scheduled departure. During check-ins, I select the way to obtain my pass: either through message, text, or email and then save it in my device. Since I get to do it through my app, it negates the need for any printer. During the boarding process, I present my free pass at the security checkpoint.

Getting at the airport

In most of the airports, the gates are usually arranged in numerical order in very long hallways. Some of the airports have entrances on both the right and left side that have entries with odd numbers on one side and those with even numbers on the other side. Bathrooms, kiosks, gift shops, and food courts will be present along the concourses. There are people in steady streams, usually, who will be walking down in the opposite direction. Thus, you will be able to keep on track. Sometimes, I ask the passersby about the nearest gate the lies next to me and attempt and determining if the numbers are going down or up.

Retrieving baggage

If you are to check your bags, then a few things I do can make your luggage retrieval as well. Firstly, it always helps if there is an audible locator of luggage because you can get to your bags faster. While the luggage is traveling around the airline carousel, you can activate the beeping locator. Furthermore, it helps if you carry baggage that is made of the distinctive element or is marked with brightly-colored tape.