Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport demonstrates its dedication to the customer experience with a new service for visually impaired travelers.

The new service, Aira, offers blind or low-vision travelers guidance through a mobile app. Aira assists with a variety of needs, including navigating through crowds, avoiding obstacles, finding gates, using self-service kiosks and passing through TSA checkpoints. The app connects users with professionally trained visual interpreters who use live-streamed video to translate visual information into descriptive audio. The app is free to download on iTunes and Google Play. While accessing the app for personal use can require a fee, the service is free to users at the airport.

© Sky Harbor International Airport

“At Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport, we’re committed to providing all of our customers the best possible experience, which includes making sure accessibility is a top priority,” said Chad Makovsky, director of aviation services, Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport. “I hope that with the addition of Aira service, our passengers will be empowered to travel the way they want when they choose Sky Harbor.”

The airport partnered with the nonprofit Foundation for Blind Children to help promote Aira.

“Our organization was founded to help people who are blind or visually impaired achieve greater independence, where vision loss is a diagnosis and not a disability,” said Marc Ashton, CEO, Foundation for Blind Children. “By making this commitment to, and investment in greater accessibility, Phoenix Sky Harbor is truly helping to advance that vision.”

Visit the website for more information about Aira and the airport’s accessibility programs.