DETROIT - Detroit Metropolitan Airport (DTW) will be offering more options to travelers with disabilities when they are picked up or dropped off at the airport. By offering these accommodations, the airport intends to make arriving and departing DTW more convenient, while maintaining safety.
The proposed accommodations would allow travelers with disabilities, who are using any type of commercial ground transportation, to choose to be picked up or dropped off at newly designated locations that are closer to terminal entrances. These locations would simply represent an alternative to the existing locations, and travelers who wish could continue to use the current, accessible locations in the McNamara and North Terminals' Ground Transportation Centers (GTC).
"Our team is constantly evaluating opportunities to improve or expand service to our customers," said Airport Authority CEO Thomas Naughton. "We expect to offer these additional accommodations in mid-March after dialogue with regulatory officials, members of the disability community, and ground transportation operators."
At the McNamara Terminal, these new accommodations would allow customers with disabilities to be picked up at Door 402 of the GTC, which opens directly into the enclosed area of the GTC, and dropped off at the McNamara Terminal Departures Level curb, just outside of ticketing and passenger screening. Construction to accommodate this change at the Departures Level curb commenced earlier this year. At the North Terminal, members of the disability community, if they choose, could be picked up and dropped off at Bay Five of the North Terminal GTC, which is the closest door to the enclosed area of the GTC. Ground transportation operators would otherwise continue to use their assigned positions for pick-ups and drop-offs.
The changes will not be finalized or take effect until mid-March.
Detroit Metro Airport has a history of working with organizations that serve customers with disabilities, such as Leader Dogs for the Blind and Paws with a Cause, and developed its own On Board with Autism program for families affected by Autism. Also, DTW was one of the world's first airports to open an airside service animal relief area (SARA), located in the McNamara Terminal, for customers traveling with service animals.
Photo: McNamara Terminal Departures Curb Construction (PRNewsFoto/Detroit Metropolitan Airport).
