United Airlines To Train Employees On Intellectual Disabilities
Oscar Munoz, chief executive officer of United Airlines, is flanked by Special Olympics athletes and United employees at a company event Thursday where he announced that the airline will educate its workforce about how to better serve people with intellectual disabilities. (United Airlines)
A major U.S. airline is taking steps to improve travel for people with intellectual disabilities while also eyeing other ways to beef up inclusion.
Chicago-based United Airlines said this week that it will train all of its workers to better understand the needs of people with disabilities.
The training developed with Special Olympics will be aimed at making “traveling a positive experience for individuals with intellectual disabilities,” United said.
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More than 60,000 of the airline’s frontline employees will complete the new training by the end of this year.
In-person sessions will feature scenarios reflective of issues people with intellectual disabilities face when flying, the company said.
Oscar Munoz, chief executive officer at United Airlines, announced the new commitment Thursday at United’s 2018 Leadership Conference in Chicago where he appeared alongside Special Olympics chairman Tim Shriver and athletes from the organization.
“We are honored to evolve our relationship with Special Olympics, an organization that embodies United’s spirit of inclusion and connecting the world,” Munoz said.
Beyond employee training, United said it is exploring ways to hire people with intellectual disabilities as part of its efforts to build an inclusive workforce.
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