Delta Debuts Accessible Inflight Map for Vision-Impaired Passengers

Delta Air Lines has updated its seatback flight map across most of its aircraft, with the new design now more accessible for travelers with low-vision disabilities.

The Atlanta-based airline announced that its highly popular onboard flight map has had a makeover with its visually impaired passengers in mind, enhancing its commitment to improving the travel experience for its disabled customers. The inclusive flight map has been rolled out on over 650 aircraft, with most of Delta’s record 165,000 seatback screens now offering the new design.

Photo: Courtesy of Delta Air Lines

The new maps include a range of new features, including high-contrast visuals, with a choice of bright colors on a dark background or greyscale, ensuring high visibility and reducing eye strain, while all text and icons have also been enlarged.

It’s also designed to help color-blind passengers by using patterns, textures, and colors to differentiate between areas and map elements. Map labeling has also been streamlined, with countries, borders, and major cities taking priority in order to reduce clutter. Meanwhile, passengers can adjust the map to their preferred visual perspective by using zoom and pan controls.

Voice Narration on the Works

Delta also confirmed that voice narration will be added to future versions of the in-flight map, using AI and flight data to provide visually impaired passengers with audio updates of the flight’s location, arrival time, and points of interest.

“No one better connects the world than Delta,” said Ekrem Dimbiloglu, Managing Director of Customer Experience for In-Flight Entertainment, Delta Studio, and Wi-Fi at Delta Air Lines.

“To truly fulfill that promise, we must ensure every customer can connect with their journey in a way that enhances their experience and makes them feel valued and cared for. We are proud to be the first airline to launch this technology, setting the standard for inclusive travel experiences across the industry.”

The Most Popular Entertainment

According to Delta, its flight map is the most popular feature of its in-flight entertainment system, with around 45 percent of its passengers engaging with the map across their flights—more than those who enjoy any other options, including movies, live TV, audio, and games.

Photo: Courtesy of Delta Air Lines

The airline also claims that its previous flight map already met all American with Disabilities Act (ADA) and European Accessibility Act (EAA) standards, but it worked together with its own Advisory Board on Disability to further enhance the experience for users based on customer feedback.

“It’s exciting as a visually impaired person that Delta is making the flight map more accessible for low-vision users,” said Thomas Panek, Chair of Delta’s Advisory Board of Disability and President of Guiding Eyes for the Blind. “By making flight maps more accessible to low-vision users, Delta is making the experience better for all travelers.”