Service Within Ten Minutes: The New “Assisted Passengers” Lounge Opens at Ben Gurion – An Improved Service Experience for Passengers with Disabilities
As first reported by Aviation in the Media, the new “Assisted Passengers” lounge has opened at Ben Gurion – an improved service experience for passengers with disabilities.
Minister Regev: “Today we mark another step in making it easier for people with limited mobility on their way abroad, in a unique project that exists at only a few airports in the world”
Minister of Transport and Road Safety Brig. Gen. (res.) Miri Regev yesterday (Monday) inaugurated the new “Assisted Passengers” lounge at Ben Gurion Airport. The lounge offers a centralized, comprehensive service for passengers who need assistance, from all airlines except El Al, which operates its own dedicated service.
The lounge brings all the check-in and flight registration stages together in one place, for maximum convenience. It includes security screening stations, reception and check-in counters, as well as self-check-in kiosks. Suitcases are sent directly from the lounge to the aircraft hold, after which passengers move to a dedicated line for hand-luggage screening located nearby, and from there continue directly to border control. The process is expected to take up to ten minutes of waiting only.
Under the Equal Rights for Persons with Disabilities Law, responsibility for assisted passengers and their baggage lies with the airlines from the moment they enter the terminal until they reach their destination. The new lounge’s services will be provided by the airlines’ ground handling companies, significantly improving the service experience for passengers who need assistance.
The ceremony was attended by Ministry of Transport Director General Moshe Ben-Zaken, Israel Airports Authority CEO Sharon Kedmi, representatives of disability organizations in Israel, and captivity survivor Mia Regev, who was abused by the terrorists who treated her leg, wounded by gunfire while fleeing the Nova festival grounds.
Minister of Transport and Road Safety, Brig. Gen. (res.) Miri Regev: “Our main role as the Ministry of Transport is to provide mobility for all Israeli citizens, everywhere. I see a doubled commitment to ensuring that every site and every means of transport is also accessible to people with disabilities. With the launch of the new ‘Assisted Passengers’ lounge at Ben Gurion, today we mark another step in making it easier for people with limited mobility on their way abroad, in a unique project that exists at only a few airports in the world.”
Ministry of Transport Director General Moshe Ben Zaken: “Care and consideration for people with disabilities are a central, deep value that Minister Regev makes a point of instilling among all ministry employees and embedding in every project we promote. The new ‘Assisted Passengers’ lounge at Ben Gurion represents the ministry’s approach on this issue, which aims not only to meet the requirements of the law but to go beyond what is required and ensure optimal accessibility and mobility for every person who, for various reasons, is limited in one way or another.”
Ben Gurion Airport Director Udi Bar Oz: “We’re proud to provide an improved and respectful service experience for assisted passengers. The new lounge will ease their travel process and make it more pleasant. Ben Gurion continues to work constantly to improve service, accessibility and the customer experience for all passengers.”
Chairman of Access Israel, Yuval Wagner: “Access Israel, which has led the issue of accessibility for people with disabilities in Israel for 25 years, congratulates the Israel Airports Authority on launching the new assisted passengers lounge. This is a unique concept in the world, which will provide all the assistance required for people with disabilities on their way to a flight abroad in one place.”
Alex Friedman, Chairman of the organization “Disabled, Not Half a Person”: “The inauguration of the assisted passengers terminal is a moving and important event that brings us one step further in making aviation accessible to people with disabilities, and I welcome it. We still have a way to go, and we’re working in cooperation with Transport Minister Miri Regev and Ministry Director General Moshe Ben-Zaken toward more good news.”
