How disabled user testing helped Heathrow respond to accessibility feedback
Heathrow helps more people fly to more places than any other airport in Europe, handling more than 230,000 passengers every day*.
Ensuring that such a large volume of visitors can travel through the airport with ease makes the availability of digitally accessible information particularly crucial.
Responding to industry feedback
Following calls in 2022 from the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) for airports to make immediate improvements to accessibility and assistance provision, Heathrow Airport contacted AbilityNet to develop a set of tests to improve its accessibility performance.
AbilityNet’s testing focused on enhancing Heathrow’s information on accessibility and assistance within the airport.
Since then, Heathrow’s digital teams have worked with AbilityNet's expert consultants to identify and guide the airport through its priorities and digital accessibility evolution. This has involved website audits and user research to help ensure compliance with Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG).
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Reviewing website content
“As our website is often the first point of contact for passengers, it's important that we clearly set out what support is available, and to reassure them ahead of travelling. We need to make sure our content is comprehensive, easy to find and clearly written,” says Nicola Ranson, Digital Editor at Heathrow Airport.
Comprehensive user testing can highlight many additional issues affecting how easy the site is to use for people with different health conditions and impairments.
AbilityNet's thorough audit included interviews with disabled people. Consultants also set a series of tasks set for disabled user testers to check and comment on key user journeys on the Heathrow site.
The testers were drawn from AbilityNet’s database of disabled user testers covering a broad range of different impairments.
“Making sure our services are accessible to passengers is a top priority at Heathrow. AbilityNet's expertise while reviewing our accessibility web content has really helped us improve the digital experience for disabled passengers,” says Nicola.
AbilityNet also provided a video of the user tests which the airport found to be extremely useful in highlighting to its wider team the many challenges disabled people can face online.
Priorities checklist for next steps
“AbilityNet's detailed, practical report set out clear, actionable recommendations which were simple to follow and implement. The team was also responsive and professional throughout the process and I would highly recommend AbilityNet’s services to any organisation looking to improve their digital accessibility,” Nicola continues.
By making its digital products and services accessible and making ongoing improvements to provide intuitive online user journeys, Heathrow maintains accessibility compliance, enhances user experience, and builds trust with customers.
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