Sarajevo International Airport has joined a regional project DANOVA, whose main goal is to improve the accessibility of airports, ports, train and bus stations to blind and partially sighted people.
DANOVA is a transnational cooperation project for providing innovative transportation services for blind and partially sighted passengers in Danube Region which is co-funded by Interreg Danube Transnational Programme, one of the programmes of the European Territorial Cooperation funded by the European Union.
The aim of the DANOVA project is to improve the accessibility for travelling for blind and partially sighted people by developing a set of new services and competences in order to allow them to have a full access to all transportation information and services. The project with duration of 30 months (01 July 2020 – 31 December 2022) and a total budget of 2.192.546,66 EUR brings together partners from 9 different countries motivated to work together so as to make transportation facilities more accessible.
In Europe, there are over 30 million of blind and partially sighted people who cannot travel independently as more than 96% of European transport system, especially in Danube Region, is still not totally accessible to people with visual impairments. According to some statistics, there are around 5.000 blind and partially sighted people in Bosnia and Herzegovina.
Many blind and partially sighted passengers find it extremely difficult, and in some cases even impossible, to use conventional transportation such as airplanes, railways or urban public transportation. Reasons for this are various: blind and partially sighted passengers do not have equal access to up-to-date visual or written information regarding transportation; personnel are often not trained to support and adequately communicate with blind and partially sighted passengers; there is a lack of adequately accessible infrastructure; differences among national legislations about accessibility between countries etc.
In all Danube Region, there is an increasing demand from organizations working and representing blind and partially sighted people to set up new services which will make the environment of transport facilities more inclusive and accessible, and where the blind and partially sighted passengers will be treated as equals.
Some of the proposed solutions which will be implemented at Sarajevo International Airport as a part of the DANOVA project for blind and partially sighted people are:
1. mobile application for blind and partially sighted people,
2. website of Sarajevo International Airport for blind and partially sighted people,
3. interactive map (physical map that allows interaction either by touch or by voice),
4. guidance/signage (pictograms or other visual elements with appropriate font, size, and contrast for partially sighted passengers),
5. acoustic guidance/signage (acoustic guidance/elements that guide passengers like voice announcements in elevators, on platforms, audio descriptions etc.),
6. tactile guidance/signage (Tactile Walking Surface Indicators (TWSI) at the premises of Sarajevo International Airport),
7. guidance/signage/Braille signs (Braille signs on the toilet facilities, departure waiting areas etc.),
8. AIRA service (service in which remote agents direct blind or partially sighted passengers via video from passengers’ smartphone or smart glasses at the premises of Sarajevo International Airport),
9. Lighting (indoor or outdoor innovative lightning solutions (different levels of illumination and shadow avoidance),
10. horizontal movement of blind and partially sighted passengers (paths, corridors, doors, slip resistance of surfaces related to horizontal movement),
11. vertical movement of blind and partially sighted passengers (stairs, ramps, slip resistance of handrail surfaces, operating related to vertical movement),
12. shopping facilities (best practices/innovative solutions related to shopping for blind and partially sighted passengers at airports),
13. vending machines (tactile or braille marking on keyboards, display with large font and optional colour modes and audio guidance),
14. catering facilities/cafés (best practices/innovative solutions related to catering facilities at airports),
15. departure/arrival points (aprons, gates, queuing areas, implementing the queuing system for blind and partially sighted passengers when in queues for boarding),
16. waiting areas (best practices/innovative solutions related to waiting areas at airports and areas for the registration of passengers),
17. sanitary facilities (alarm facilities, manoeuvring space etc.),
18. evacuation routes (best practices/innovative solutions related to evacuation routes including signage, finding a way out),
19. facilities for guide-dogs (best practices/innovative solutions related to service animals),
20. accessibility policies (best practices on accessibility policies for blind and partially sighted on level of airport, port, train/bus station
21. customer service standards (best practices in relation to customer service standards for blind and partially sighted people).
22. Disability Awareness Staff Training (staff training programmes for raising disability awareness with the emphasis on visual impairment),
23. all other services that might be offered to blind and partially sighted people.
The consortium of 14 partners is led by Dubrovnik Airport (Croatia). The consortium is well-balanced in terms of involvement of airports, ports, research institutions, local authorities and associations representing blind people: Airport Bratislava, Budapest Airport, Centre for Budapest Transport, University of Maribor, Bulgarian Association for Transfer and Technology Innovation, Croatian Blind Union, Austrian Federation of the Blind and Partially Sighted, Dubrovnik Port Authority, Municipality of Maribor, Airports of Montenegro, Port of Kotor, Sarajevo International Airport, Moldova Association of the Blind. The project involves also 4 associated partners: Slovak Blind and Partially Sighted Union, Ljubljana Airport, Civil Aviation Authority of the Republic of Moldova and DEX Innovation Centre.
Project details:
Project number: 543
Start date: 01.07.2020
End Date: 31.12.2022
Total budget: 2.192.546,66 Euro
ERDF contribution: 1.739.970,00 Euro
IPA II contribution: 362.130,00 Euro
ENI-MD contribution: 90.446,66 Euro