Accessible Edmonton Airport
Edmonton International Airport has won awards for accessibility
Edmonton International Airport prides itself on being barrier-free and on making travel accessible to disabled persons.
Edmonton is the capital city of the Province of Alberta. The city is Canada's most northern provincial capital. It is a modern city with the nickname "Gateway to the North".
Edmonton International Airport (YEG) serves much of Canada's north, as well as western regional routes, national and international markets. The airport has been renovated and the terminal has a light and airy (no pun intended) feel.
Finding the details that disabled travellers need was not completely intuitive on the main Edmonton Airports website. If this link to the Accessibility area on the website does not work, the step-by-step navigation on the website is:
And what a tremendous set of services Edmonton Airport offers for travellers with special needs.
They include:
- unisex / family washrooms with a call system
- grab bars
- Braille signage
- wheelchair lift on parking shuttle bus
- tactile surfaces
- staff have disability awareness training
- oversized revolving doors
- TTY pay telephones and hotel/motel booking TTY telephones
- accessible counters
- dog relief areas for service dogs
- accessible parking and curbside disability parking via the taxi queueand more.
Edmonton International Airport also has services useful to every traveller, whether or not they are disabled. There are volunteer ambassadors, an information desk, food services, and a range of shops. The website has a map of the terminal and details about all the services found there.
The accessibility brochure, available online, is quite descriptive. The brochure mentions that for security clearance, private rooms are available upon request for passengers who need them.
Wheelchair users who are taking a taxi to the airport should reserve their taxi at least 24 hours ahead of time, requesting an accessible van. For transport from the airport, the airport's brochure says that if you have not pre-arranged your transportation home, you can go to the Ground Transportation desk to request an accessible taxi, which will be ready in not more than 90 minutes.
Edmonton is known for its cold winter weather. While most of the gates have enclosed walkways connecting the plane to the terminal, there are some flights which are boarded at ground level. Travelling via Edmonton International Airport can involve a brief walk outside. All passengers should keep this in mind and have suitable outdoor clothing handy, including warm footwear.
One of the pleasures of travelling via Edmonton is also because of its northern location. In the summer, the days are very long and the scenery quite beautiful in the evening light.
The Edmonton International Airport strives to be barrier-free and has won various awards for its efforts. One of these was the inaugural Percy Wickman Accessibility Award in October 2004. This particular award is special. Mr. Wickman died in 2004, after a lifetime of public service, first as an alderman in Edmonton and then as a Member of the Legislative Assembly (MLA), which is the provincial government for Alberta.
Percy Wickman broke his back in his early twenties and used a wheelchair for the rest of his life. He worked tirelessly during his political career to make accessibility a priority. To win an accessibility award in his name is notable.
