Manchester Airport – a Corporate Partner of the FTE Digital, Innovation & Startup Hub – is partnering with sensory support charity DSN (Deaf & Sensory Network) to enhance the airport experience for deaf and hearing-impaired travellers. As part of the initiative, more than 100 airport colleagues have signed up for a British Sign Language (BSL) course. They are being given tailored tuition, so that they can not only understand BSL and communicate using it, but will also learn some of the specific language that may be used by travellers in an airport.
In addition to delivering the BSL course, the first of its kind at a UK airport, DSN is partnering with Manchester Airport to drive public awareness and understanding of sensory loss.
Manchester Airport has made a number of changes to its procedures, and improvements to its facilities, over the last 12 months in consultation with its Accessibility Forum. This independently chaired advisory group aims to give travellers with disabilities a voice in shaping the airport experience and is made up of representatives from the airport and its special assistance provider, as well as airport users and charities including DSN.
Some of the headline improvements for passengers with hearing loss or other sensory loss include:
- A British Sign Language (BSL) Live Interpreter service.
- ‘Touch to Tell’ icons added to passenger information kiosks.
- A BSL security preparation video added to airport website.
- Design input into the redevelopment of Terminal 2 as part of the Manchester Airport Transformation Programme, including additional seating and capacity for an additional assistance lane in security to operate during peak times.
- Additional tailored passenger guidance on website related to travel with Assistance Dogs and hidden disabilities.
“At Manchester Airport, we’re proud to connect the people of the North with the world, and we want everyone travelling through to have a great experience,” said Jennifer Byrne-Smith, Customer Operations Director, Manchester Airport. “That, of course, includes the many thousands of passengers with hearing loss or other kinds of sensory loss that use our airport every year. We also employ more than 3,600 people, many of whom either have sensory loss themselves or have friends or loved ones who are affected – so our colleagues are highly invested in this issue too, and it’s been fantastic to see such strong demand for places on our free BSL programme, run in conjunction with the Deaf & Sensory Network. This is a programme that will have tangible benefits for passengers with hearing loss as they navigate our airport – and it comes on the back of several other improvements made in the past 12 months, with further work ongoing.”
Hear more from Manchester Airports Group at FTE Global – the “CES of Aviation” taking place in Long Beach on 9 to 11 September 2025. Mike Hardaker, Chief Asset & Development Officer, Manchester Airports Group, is participating in a session focused on ‘The future of business & commercial strategies for airports – are we at the threshold of airports evolving to become digital companies that run experiential businesses, and what would the new business models and organisational structures be behind that?’
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