Saudi Arabian Airlines (Saudia) has become the world’s first airline to introduce a comprehensive flight guide in Braille for visually-impaired and blind passengers.
The guide will be available on both domestic and international flights, Abdul Rahman Al-Fahad, director general of Saudia, said.
He said that the integrated services now offered by the airline aims to enable passengers with disabilities to travel comfortably, starting from booking and ground services to services aboard planes, including special meals and distinctive services that meet their particular needs.
Al-Fahad said that Saudia is among the world’s best airlines in providing services for disadvantaged people and, in consideration of this, has received a number of awards.
The airline offers all of its services for to the disabled and disadvantaged through trained and well-qualified staff, in addition to elevators, special meals and. “Now, menus, safety procedures and magazines printed in Braille in-flight.”
Interestingly, the Saudi Arabia Airline Company has imported a state-of-the-art Braille printer to transform all of its lists and applications into Braille as part of this new move.
Saudia first to offer Braille on flights
Saudia first to offer Braille on flights
Saudi Arabia’s KAUST named FIFA’s first research institute in MENA
- The recognition highlights KAUST’s commitment to integrating sports, academic research and industry through advanced, high-level initiatives grounded in rigorous scientific methodologies, contributing to the advancement of football studies
RIYADH: FIFA has designated the King Abdullah University of Science and Technology as its first research institute in the Middle East and Asia to support the development of innovative football research, the Saudi Press Agency reported on Tuesday.
The recognition highlights KAUST’s commitment to integrating sports, academic research and industry through advanced, high-level initiatives grounded in rigorous scientific methodologies, contributing to the advancement of football studies.
KAUST President Prof. Sir Edward Byrne said that the university’s selection as the fifth FIFA Research Institute in the world — and the first in the region — marks a significant achievement, reflecting Saudi Arabia’s growing presence in international football.
The accreditation aligns with national efforts to invest in research and development and promote the knowledge economy, supporting Saudi Vision 2030’s goals of building an advanced sports system based on innovation and sustainability.
The collaboration’s first project focuses on developing advanced AI algorithms to analyze historical FIFA World Cup broadcast footage, transforming decades of match videos into structured, searchable data, according to the KAUST website.
This work opens new opportunities to apply state-of-the-art computer vision techniques and deepen understanding of how football has evolved over time.
The second project uses player and ball tracking data from the FIFA World Cup 2022 in Qatar and the FIFA Women’s World Cup 2023 in Australia and New Zealand to compile comprehensive datasets capturing in-game dynamics.
These datasets provide deeper insights into human movement, playing techniques and performance dynamics through AI-driven analysis.
