9th November
09:00-18:30
Heathrow Airport
Airport Accessibility Award Finalists
We are excited to share this year’s Accessibility Award Finalists and look forward to seeing who wins the 2022 title. This year’s finalists include:
- King Khalid International Airport / King Salman Center for Disability Research
- East Midlands Airport
- Bahrain International Airport .
Sheraton Skyline Hotel
(Heathrow Airport, Bath Road (A4), Hayes UB3 5BP, United Kingdom
The conference for Airport Passenger Assistance leaders who will meet in-person to address the key challenges and solutions facing assisted service operations.
The last two years have proven testing times for all stakeholders in the aviation sector. The management of service operations for assisted passengers has especially been impacted. Operations have been burdened with staffing uncertainty, financial constraint and erratic passenger traffic. This has also led to examples of creative innovation as well as inspiring service solutions. As we begin to see the light at the end of the tunnel, we can use lessons learned and best practices to work toward the realization of operational service excellence, innovation and ensuring every passenger experience.
The conference has become the leading platform for assisted service managers and leaders to come together to share best practices, innovations, network with peers and to bring back actionable solutions to their assisted service operations.
Many examples of progress and solutions have been created worldwide since the last edition which will be explored through a selection of expert presentations, Q&As and roundtables as the community puts Assisted Services at the forefront of an expert driven day with outcome based decisions.
(registration fee waived for approved attendees)
Check out the amazing speakers who are already confirmed
David Blunkett was awarded a peerage in the dissolution Honours List in 2015, taking the title of Lord Blunkett, of Brightside and Hillsborough in the City of Sheffield. David was Member of Parliament for Sheffield Brightside and Hillsborough 1987-2015, and a member of Tony Blair’s Cabinet for eight years from 1997. He served as Education and Employment Secretary, Home Secretary and Secretary of State for Work and Pensions.
He is currently a Professor of Politics in Practice at the University of Sheffield, Chair of the Board of the University of Law, and is Chair of the Heathrow Local Recovery Forum. He was Chair of the EasyJet Special Assistance Advisory Group over many years, and is involved in a range of voluntary and charitable organisations locally and nationally.
He is an avid supporter of Sheffield Wednesday Football Club.
Married, with four sons and three stepdaughters, he enjoys the countryside, reading and good food.
Presentation title: How do we restore the focus post pandemic, on those who need assistance the most – and how will this help restore confidence to passengers generally?
Mark De Laurentiis - Director of the Passenger Rights Protection Department of ENAC The aforementioned Department is responsible for the enforcement of the Regulation EC 261/2004 and Regulation EC 1107/2006 and oversees the quality of airport services and the assistance for PRMs provided by Italian airport managing bodies. He has been Head of Passenger Rights and Airport Quality Services Unit since June 2018. Previously he has been Director of the Air Transport and Environment Regulation Department and for more than ten years he has been involved in economic and charges regulation in air transport, statistics and economic studies at the Economic Analysis and Tariffs Department of ENAC.
He participated in various international fora (ICAO, ECAC, DG MOVE, IATA, Eurocontrol) and, acting as expert, he has joined two Twinings, one TAIEX and has covered the role of coordinator of an ECAC Expert Group on PRM matters and has been National Coordinator for the ECAC Quality Assessment Programme.
Graduated in Economics of International Commerce and Currency Markets and has a postgraduate degree in Communication and Business Administration. Before joining the air transport sector he worked as consultant in management and marketing companies and in the banking sector.
Presentation Title: Enac initiatives for passengers with disabilities and reduced mobility
Evelien is a 33 year veteran in aviation. She has worked most of her career at KLM. After various Revenue Management positions, she moved to logistics. In her last position was seconded from KLM to SkyTeam were she was the Product Owner of the SkyTeam baggage tracking tool. During Covid, Evelien left KLM and started at Axxicom Airport Caddy as Manager Operation. In the first 1,5 year Axxicom was busy surviving due to lack of PRM. The last 6 months, Axxicom is also busy surviving, now due to the enormous increase in PRM. She is going to talk about the Powerful Return of the PRM.
Presentation Title: THE POWERFUL RETURN OF THE PRM
Peter joined IATA in 2019 and leads IATA’s government affairs work in the UK and Ireland. Peter has 15 years’ experience in the transport sector and has worked across a range of political, policy, and advocacy roles. Before joining IATA, Peter spent four years working for the UK Airport Operators Association and prior to this he spent eight years in Brussels, where he worked as a political adviser specialising in EU transport policy.
Presentation Title: An IATA Update
Emily is Head of Accessibility and Inclusive Design at Mima. A wheelchair user herself, she brings lived experience of disability to projects and focuses on physical, social and digital inclusion for disabled people and those with other protected characteristics.
A great believer in inclusive end-to end experiences that benefit both the user and staff member, Emily has experience of auditing transport and aviation networks and journeys, delivering disability awareness training sessions, recruiting and facilitating lived experience user groups, and creating inclusive policies and standards for organisations to improve their internal and external accessibility. Her clients include Heathrow Airport, the National Railway Museum, and Dubai Expo 2020.
Presentation Title: The importance of social accessibility in aligning design and operations
Laurel Van Horn is recognized internationally as an expert in inclusive travel and transportation, having dedicated her long career to equitable access for individuals with all types of disabilities. Since 2004, she has served as VP Director of Programs for Open Doors Organization (ODO), the Chicago-based non-profit best known for its nationwide studies of the disability travel market.
Much of Laurel's work at ODO is in the field of aviation including development and delivery of training programs and symposia for airports, airlines and airline service companies. She has authored or contributed to several Airport Cooperative Research Reports including ACRP Report 210: Innovative Solutions to Facilitate Accessibility for Airport Travelers with Disabilities.
Before joining ODO, Laurel served as Executive Director of the Society for Accessible Travel & Hospitality (SATH) and editor of their magazine, Open World. A long-term resident of New York City, Laurel has an M.A. in Economics from the New School for Social Research and a B.A. from Bryn Mawr College in Sociology.
Presentation Title: Accessible Air Travel in North America—Old Challenges, New Opportunities
James is responsible for enforcing UK aviation consumer protection legislation, including accessibility and enforcement of Regulation UK1107/2006 concerning the rights of disabled people and those with reduced mobility. His role is varied, working with a number of stakeholders on projects aimed at protecting the right of consumers in the UK aviation market.
Presentation Title: UK CAA role in helping airports to deliver a more passenger focused and effective assistance service
Tambre has been charged with responsibility of administering the Houston Airports Disability Compliance Program to ensure all regulatory requirements are met so that travelers with disabilities have equal access to all the services, programs and activities that HAS provides to travelers. As the ADA Program Manager, she is rebranding the Houston Airport’s Accessibility Services Program called “Access the Magic of Flight” to create an Accessibility Experience to truly serve passengers with dignity. She’s worked diligently to align ADA compliance needs with Infrastructure objectives and enforce better communication and planning in construction projects to ensure equal access to airport facilities.
Tambre’ previously worked as an HR professional in the US Navy for 19 years and is a Senior Certified Professional by the Society of Human Resources Management. Tambre is also certified through the University of Missouri-Columbia as a Title II Americans with Disabilities Act Coordinator with Advanced Certifications in Accessibility for Business and Employment. She has earned her Diversity and Inclusion Certification from Cornell University Institute of Labor Relations and trained with the Yang-Tan Institute to become a trainer in the ADA Trainer Leadership Network (ADA TLN). She is extremely passionate about equal employment opportunities for veterans and people with disabilities.
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Select how you would like to participant in this year's Airport PRM Leadership Conference
Register your attendance
Space is limited to 50 attendees and reserved for Passenger Assistance stakeholders representing Airports, Providers, Authorities and Airlines.
Register your interest to speak
Leaders who would like to share their innovative solutions and best practices on the day are invited to submit their proposals here.
See last year’s speakers and topics here
Submit awards nomination
The Airport Accessibility Award has become an integral part of the event. To nominate an airport or service for excellence submit their details here to be shortlisted.
How the registrations are shaping up...
