On the occasion of the 35th National Day of Assisting Persons with Disabilities, CAAC released the Guidelines for the Planning and Construction of Barrier-Free Environment in Passenger Terminal Areas of Transport Airports (Guidelines). As the industry's first comprehensive guidance document on barrier-free environment planning, construction, and the elder-friendly renovations in passenger terminal areas of transport airports, the Guidelines provides systematic methodology guidance and recommendations for the entire lifecycle management of barrier-free environments, including planning, design, construction, and operations.
The construction of barrier-free environment is an important indicator of national and social progress and a key reflection of the development standards of civil airports. For a long time, CAAC has attached great importance to protecting the legitimate rights and interests of persons with disabilities, the elderly, and other groups during air travel. CAAC has continuously advanced the development of barrier-free environment at airports, as well as the enhancement of the elder-friendly and barrier-free services, ensuring that air transport services better benefit all members of society.
The Guidelines adopts a user-oriented approach, incorporating social development trends and the behavioral characteristics of persons with disabilities, the elderly, and other groups. It closely aligns with the needs of various airport scenarios, clarifying general principles for barrier-free environment planning and construction at transport airports, as well as requirements for planning priorities, facility and equipment configuration, service design, and operational management. Additionally, the Guidelines provides detailed visual materials, international and domestic frameworks for barrier-free environment management, relevant legal requirements, and research reports in the main text and appendices, ensuring the coherence between methodology guidance and practical utility.
Focusing on the characteristics of airport service scenarios, the Guidelines prioritizes meeting the travel needs of persons with disabilities while also addressing the practical challenges faced by the elderly, patients or persons with injuries, travelers with infants or young children, and those carrying over-sized luggage during airport arrival/departure, waiting, and boarding processes. By promoting universal design, the Guidelines aims to enhance service inclusivity and friendliness, driving the development of barrier-free environment in transport airports from "meeting basic needs" to "promoting integration and shared access". Furthermore, the Guidelines emphasizes three key aspects: barrier-free facilities, barrier-free information, and barrier-free services, advocating the creation of a comprehensive barrier-free environment in passenger terminal areas at airports that integrates both hardware facilities and soft services.
