Divers with disabilities from a Belgian club dived off Hurghada this week

A group of divers with disabilities from the Belgian club Pan Plongée Adaptée, based in Namur, dived in the Red Sea off Hurghada this week, with a Red Sea dive centre and a group of Egyptian instructors. The dive centre is not named in the reporting.

The club specialises in adaptive diving, in which training, equipment and support are adjusted to the individual diver, with safety requirements and a separate assessment for each case.

What an adapted trip involves

Dive guide Badawy Abdullah said preparation begins with checking that participants can handle diving equipment and training them with it, including in swimming pools, and with providing wheelchairs and other assistance. Trips then need guides and companions trained for the group's needs, help moving from the quay onto the boat, and support with suits, cylinders and breathing equipment.

Entering the water requires particular care, he said, with qualified instructors accompanying divers underwater and support matched to each participant.

Estimates circulating among people working in this field put the cost of a dive trip for a diver with a mobility disability at about 20% to 30% above a standard trip, because of the extra equipment, companions, training and specialised support. The figure varies with the participant's condition, the services provided and the dive centre's own capacity.

A wider push for inclusive diving

Ali Saeed, a professional diving instructor, said the visit is an opening to widen inclusive tourism on the Red Sea, with dive centres developing their services, training staff and providing suitable assistive equipment under recognised professional and medical rules.

Abdullah said partnerships run with dive centres and organisations specialising in diving and in support for people with disabilities in Austria, Switzerland and Germany, alongside cooperation over the past two years with French partners and specialist instructors.