The human touch
We want passengers to enjoy their time at the airport, reassured that they are being well cared for by our trained and vetted colleagues. We aim to provide a personalised service by capturing accurate passenger information, while being flexible and sensitive to any changes in their requirements.
Our customer care agents are trained to recognise and support passengers with hidden disabilities, including travellers with dementia, autism and Asperger's syndrome, mental health issues and stomas. We also support passengers with hearing, visual and sensory impairments.
We work with airports, airlines, and disability rights and charity groups to deliver expert award-winning passenger assistance services for passengers with reduced mobility and hidden disabilities.
Paralympians Dylan Alcott and Andy Barrow - ambassadors for the OCS Passengers with Reduced Mobility (PRM) service - took some time out to chat to us about their encounters with PRM services around the globe, as well as sharing their thoughts on how the service can be further elevated.
Caring for all passengers
We're passionate about exceptional passenger experience and improving the journey, for everyone.
We are continuing to make air travel more accessible through initiatives such as airport tours for children with autism and their families, and Dementia Friends training for all our colleagues.
Investment where it matters: you
We use market leading technology to improve our service to you. Locating wheelchairs and equipment in a busy airport can lead to delays for passengers and airlines, so we use a barcoding system to locate them quickly. We also use beacon technology, which is the latest location and proximity technology on the market and enables us to track equipment and assets within the airport.
Our optimised real-time resource-allocation system ensures we have the right people with the right equipment where they need to be to best meet passenger needs. It also gives us and our customer visibility of the PRM operation and ECAC scoring, SLA and KPI performance.
In the 2019/2020 CAA Accessibility Report, we scored 'Very Good' at both Glasgow and Bristol airports and 'Good' at Birmingham Airport for our PRM provision.
Watching our sunflowers grow
We're proud to be behind the hidden disabilities' sunflower lanyard. Originally designed to support passengers at UK airports, we didn't patent it as we didn't want there to be any barriers to its adoption. Now the scheme is in use at airports around the world and has also been adopted by shopping centres and high street retailers. Thanks to our efforts, both Birmingham and Bristol airports have received the National Autism Society's Autism Friendly Charter Mark and both airports are also Dementia Friendly.
The lanyard acts as a discrete sign to all airport staff that additional support may be required. This could mean giving a passenger more time to prepare at check-in or security or allowing them to always remain with their family. It ensures they receive a comprehensive briefing on what to expect as they travel through the airport; or helping them to read a departure board or sign.
Need our assistance?
If you need passenger assistance from us, please visit the relevant airport website:
If you would like information about the support available at Bristol Airport, email brs-hiddendisability@ocs.co.uk with your name, departure date and relevant flight information.