logan-volunteers-lend-a-helping-hand-massport-expands-passenger-assistance-at-airport

Travelers at Logan International Airport are getting a helping hand from a corps of newly recruited volunteers. The new volunteers, currently working in Terminal E, will soon be providing basic assistance to all of Logan's 27 million passengers a year. The volunteer corps was developed in partnership with Travelers Aid Boston and is the latest in a series of customer service improvements at Logan.

"Now, passengers will have more people to turn to when looking for their gate or baggage claim," said Massport Executive Director and CEO Virginia Buckingham. "With live musical performances in the terminals, new rocking chairs, courteous cab drivers, cots and snacks for stranded travelers, and now a corps of knowledgeable volunteers, Logan is setting the standard for quality customer service."

There are currently 15 volunteers working in Terminal E. An additional 15 volunteers will be trained and deployed later this month. All volunteers must complete a one-day orientation program and the three-hour Airport Ambassador customer service training offered to all airport employees. Volunteers will wear blue vests and carry a yellow clipboard with a large blue question mark on the back. They will also wear blue and yellow nametags identifying them as volunteers.

Travelers Aid volunteers believe in community service, said Richard E. Ring, Executive Director of Travelers Aid Boston. This new partnership with Massport will create many more volunteer opportunities and the result will be better service to the traveling public.

Once the program is fully implemented, the volunteers will staff the upper levels (departures level) of all five airport terminals from 7:00 am 7:00 pm daily. The volunteers will work four-hour shifts and be supervised by an on-site Travelers Aid volunteer coordinator. Volunteers will be equipped with terminal-specific directories to help direct passengers and will escort travelers who need special assistance to Massport Public Information staff. Massport's full-time public information staff will continue their duties staffing information booths, providing interpreter services, providing meet and greet and guide services and roaming the terminals looking for passengers in need of assistance.

Travelers Aid Boston is a non-profit organization established in 1920 to assist the traveling public, the poor and disadvantaged. Routinely, travelers who are stranded or lose their money or tickets are provided with emergency resources, foreign visitors are assisted with securing accommodations, and the elderly and disabled are afforded special attention. Travelers Aid volunteers and staff are renowned for their knowledge of resources and skill in treating all travelers with compassion, friendliness and respect.

This most recent effort builds on several new initiatives launched this year. Earlier this moth, Massport kicked-off a series regularly scheduled musical performances in Logan's terminals. In June, Massport installed rocking chairs in the terminal areas to provide passengers with a relaxing alternative to fixed seating. In May, Massport unveiled a customer service training program for taxicab drivers at Logan that has already reached more than 1,000 cab drivers. In February, Massport developed Guaranteed Passenger Standards for airlines at Logan and has been monitoring airlines for their adherence to the standards. And in January, Massport initiated a program to provide delayed passengers with cots, snacks and emergency baby supplies. Massport is also seeking to address passengers' number one complaint about Logan, delays, by building a new unidirectional runway at Logan, which would reduce delays by 30 percent annually.

Travelers Aid is actively recruiting volunteers for the Logan program. Anyone interested in volunteering at Logan should call Grace O'Donnell at 617-292-0588 at Travelers Aid, or visit www.taboston.org.

More in this Section