Virgin Atlantic Introduces Sign Language-Trained Cabin Crew

Virgin Atlantic has become the first UK airline to offer British Sign Language (BSL)-trained cabin crew on its flights, marking a significant step toward more inclusive travel. In celebration of the International Week of Deaf People (September 23-29, 2024), the airline hosted a special flight from London Heathrow (LHR) to Dulles International (IAD), featuring three D/deaf personalities: Gladiators star Jodie Ounsley and twin content creators Hermon and Heroda Berhane, to test the new service.

Footage of the flight, shared by Virgin Atlantic on social media, shows BSL-trained crew welcoming passengers, delivering safety instructions, and taking meal orders using sign language. The film, designed for hearing-impaired audiences, contains no spoken dialogue.

Virgin Atlantic is committed to further enhancing its accessibility services. The airline plans to increase the availability of subtitled in-flight entertainment, improve special assistance features on its My Booking platform, and introduce Sign Live, an on-demand BSL interpreter for customer service. Additionally, Virgin Atlantic has established an ‘Accessibility Advisory Board’ to continuously review and improve its services for passengers with disabilities.

Virgin Atlantic’s collaboration with the Royal National Institute for Deaf People (RNID) revealed that 82% of D/deaf or hearing-impaired individuals plan to travel abroad in the next year, but 58% worry about communicating with cabin crew. The research also indicated that deaf awareness training would increase traveler confidence (80%) and support (61%) during flights.

Since early 2023, Virgin Atlantic has doubled its team of BSL-trained cabin crew, offering BSL support on all flights, helping to ensure that D/deaf passengers feel more confident and supported when flying.

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