Developers are all set for Mobility

“I am very proud to have taken part in the Reduced Mobility IATA Hackathon in Seattle. Amadeus participated in this event as part of our commitment to make travel more accessible to all.  The team pitched an innovative idea enhancing the booking experience to handle accessibility needs", says Habib Ragelhassi, Accessible Travel Intrapreneur, at Amadeus.

The airline industry is evolving, and it aims at making air travel more inclusive for people with reduced mobility. In 2019, IATA issued a resolution to improve the travel experience for the estimated one billion people living with disabilities worldwide. This hackathon comes within that context. Major travel players were present as sponsors and participants such as Delta, Air France-KLM, Expedia, Virgin, Microsoft, among others.

"Some 22 teams", adds Habib, "coming from 12 countries tried to solve two challenges representing the main pain points for travelers moving in wheelchairs (mobility aids): booking accessible flight and tracking their mobility-aid devices".

Corporate challenges at the hackathon were won by Microsoft (tracking challenge) and British Airways (booking challenge) teams.

"Accessible travel", summarizes Habib Ragelhassi, " is a basic   human right, but also a business opportunity for the industry as we identified in our in-depth study Voyage of Discovery "