DFDS

Accessibility Statement

For Compliance with the European Accessibility Act (EAA)

Introduction and Scope

DFDS is committed to ensuring digital accessibility for all users, including people with disabilities. This accessibility statement outlines our ongoing efforts to comply with the European Accessibility Act (EAA) and applicable standards, including the technical standard for websites and mobile apps EN 301 549 v.3.2.1 and level AA of the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.2.

DFDS is committed to ensuring digital accessibility for all users, including people with disabilities. This accessibility statement applies to the digital services of DFDS, which operate across the European Union and the United Kingdom.

Our accessibility efforts are aligned with the European Accessibility Act (EAA) (EU) legislation and with the Equality Act 2010 (UK), which requires services to be accessible and non-discriminatory for users with disabilities. The information in this statement reflects our efforts to meet the technical standard for websites and mobile apps EN 301 549 v.3.2.1 and level AA of the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.2 and applies to both EU and UK versions of our websites and tools.

This statement applies to the following digital services owned and operated by DFDS as well as the content published on the domains: 
This statement does not apply to the following digital services (refer to "Non-Accessible Content" for more details): 

Compliance Status

In DFDS we move for all to grow and we have a strong commitment to accessibility. We view accessibility as an ongoing journey and remain dedicated to inclusivity for all users. We continuously strive to improve the user experience for everyone and apply accessibility best practices across all of our digital platforms.

This website is partially compliant with the technical standard for websites and mobile apps EN 301 549 v.3.2.1 and level AA of the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.2 per our latest audit (June 2025). Our formal EU Declaration of Conformity as well as the full ACR / VPAT reports are available upon request.

Partially complaint means that some content and parts of our digital service do not yet fully meet accessibility standards due to ongoing rollout (in 2025) of our new Corporate Visual Identity on digital products and services such as our website. Refer to "Non-Accessible Content" for more details and non-compliance elaboration. 

Design, Development and Content 

Perceivable:  

  • Alternative text for images and other non-text content. 
  • Sufficient contrast between text, background and non-text content. 
  • Content, info and relationships are structured with semantic HTML. 
  • Content can reflow properly and text can be resized up to 200%. 
  • Responsive layout is implemented cross-platform (desktop, tablet, mobile). 

Operable:  

  • Keyboard accessible navigation for interactive elements. 
  • Keyboard support with no keyboard traps. 
  • Pages have a descriptive title. 
  • Headings and labels describe their content and purpose. 
  • Interactive elements receive focus in an order that preserves meaning and operability. 
  • Interactive elements have a visible focus indicator when focused. 
  • Interactive elements have a target size of at least 24x24 pixels. 

Understandable:  

  • Page language is programmatically set. 
  • Focus does not initiate a change of context. 
  • Consistent navigation is clear and predictable. 
  • Forms include clear error messages and suggestions. 
  • Form fields have clear, associated labels and instructions. 

Robust:  

  • Most UI components have appropriate names, roles, and values. 
  • Compatible with screen readers and other assistive technologies. 
  • Support for modern browsers (Chrome, Firefox, Safari, Edge) and device operating systems (iOS/Android). 
Evaluation Methods and Testing 
  • Regular internal audits of testing and production environments using automated tools (e.g. Axe, WAVE, Lighthouse) and manual testing. 
  • Regular internal audits of Design System Component Library using Figma plugins (e.g. Axe, Stark, Contrast Grid, Color Blender). 
  • Internal expert reviews based on WCAG 2.2 level AA 
DFDS Accessibility Policies 
  • Accessibility training for product teams. 
  • Ongoing incorporation of accessibility into internal policies and development guidelines. 
  • Governance processes to prioritise accessibility in updates. 
  • Establishing an internal “Accessibility Compliance Task Force” 
  • Acquiring accessibility expertise in-house through education and training on inclusive design and development.

Non-Accessible Content (Known Limitations) 

Despite our efforts, some content and parts of our digital service may not yet be fully accessible. We are actively working to resolve these issues and finishing the rollout of our new identity to continuously improve our content and compliance with accessibility standards. In the meantime, we recommend contacting us for alternative access (please see Feedback and Contact Information) if needed or should you encounter any issues not listed in this statement. 

Known Limitations for Non-Compliance 

We are in the process of updating our Corporate Visual Identity and Design System Component Library across our website, ongoing in 2025. Due to these updates some of our product tools are exempted from compliance as they are expected to fully comply with EAA legislation once the rollout and migration of the new identity has been finalised and deployed to the website and other various digital services throughout 2025 and 2026. We perform continuous testing and improvements on accessibility efforts for our Design System and website on an ongoing basis to comply with WCAG 2.2 level AA conformance.  

The following services are not compliant or partially compliant and are in scope for complying with EAA.

Non-Accessible Sections 

Design System Component Library is Partially Compliant  

Components, page sections and digital services are overall partially compliant due to ongoing migration to new, updated version of the visual identity, therein Design System Component Library, of the website.

Links and Content 

  • Links are not always visually distinguishable from ordinary text.
  • Not all links have clear purpose (e.g. “click here” and “read more” without context).
  • Not all content has descriptive headlines nor structure.

Color Contrast 

  • Some text and interactive elements (e.g. opacity elements) have insufficient contrast against their background.
  • Some interactive elements fail 4:51 contrast for text and 3:1 contrast against their background.

Form Fields and Validation 

  • Not all error messages are aligning with 1.4.1 Color criterion for an additional visual cue. 
  • Placeholder text has low contrast on form input fields focus states. 

Interactive Components 

  • Carousel component does not announce non-interactive cards for screen reader users meaning the users may miss relevant content if it lacks a focusable element. Planned to be compliant end of 2025. 
  • Action + Media cards components do not announce the full context for the call to action for screen reader users.
  • Content of cookie banner is missing proper screen adaption on Desktop devices meaning the button gets hidden if the user activates one of the cookie explanation sections (accordions).

PDF Documents 

  • Some downloadable PDF files are not fully accessible (e.g. missing tags, reading order).

Page and Language Settings 

  • Some pages are missing appropriate language tags.
  • Page titles are not always sufficiently described.

Name, Roles, Values 

  • Some components throughout the website are missing proper structure (e.g. name, roles, values).
Disproportionate burden 
  • The ”About” section on dfds.com only exists in English language.
  • The current B2C legacy booking flow will eventually be fully replaced with the new booking flow, aligning with compliance legislation standards.
Content out of scope of the legislation   

3rd party tools not under DFDS’ control 

Feedback and Contact Information 

We welcome feedback on our accessibility efforts and are dedicated to continuously improving the accessibility and usability of our products. If you encounter accessibility barriers while using our digital services or if you need assistance or want to request information in an accessible format, please contact us: 

  • Email: accessibility@dfds.com 
  • Head Office Postal Address: Marmorvej 18, 2100 Copenhagen Ø, Denmark 
  • Response time: We aim to respond within 5 business days. 

Enforcement Procedures

If you are not satisfied with our response, you have the right to contact your national enforcement authority to file a complaint:


For England, Scotland, and Wales

Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC)

For Northern Ireland

Equality Commission for Northern Ireland (ECNI)

Preparation and Review

This accessibility statement for DFDS is supported by our EU Declaration of Conformity. The declaration confirms the conformity of this website/app with the accessibility requirements of the European Accessibility Act (EAA) and EN  301 549 and the Equality Act 2010 (UK).

Updates to this Accessibility Statement

We review and update this accessibility statement at least once per year and whenever significant accessibility-related changes are made to the DFDS website, apps or services tools. Updates reflect progress toward compliance.

Date of last review and update: 04 July 2025
 

Preparation of this Accessibility Statement

This statement was prepared based on internal audits with reviews of representative sample web pages and key conversion points combined with automated and manual accessibility testing.

Date of publication: 27 June 2025