Air travel can be overwhelming for anyone, however for an autistic the whole experience can be our worst nightmare.
If you have been following me for the past year you may have noticed I travel a fair bit for work and for the most part I love these trips as I get to see Australia and meet and work with some amazing people, however the one part I dread is traveling there. You see most Australian airports and airlines pride themselves on being part of the Hidden Disability Sunflower Program, however for some reason they see this as the end to making things accessible to people with non-visible disabilities whereas it should only be the beginning.
Last year I travelled through Melbourne Airport, Adelaide Airport and Brisbane Airport all of which are part of the Hidden Disability Sunflower Program, however there was not one time I felt fully accommodated for while wearing my Sunflower Lanyard.
I travelled through Melbourne airport seven times last year, however I was only asked about my accessibility requirements twice, and one of those times I was flagged as a nervous flyer. At the other airports, I was never asked about my accessibility requirements leading to some really uncomfortable experiences.
photo taken outside security at Melbourne Airport Terminal 3&4
You see Airports are busy places with lots of sounds, smells and people constantly telling you what to do. It is a stressful environment for anyone, however for someone who experiences sensory overload it’s hell on earth. Anything in an airport can cause us to experience a Meltdown or a Shutdown and most airports and airlines still do not provide sensory rooms or quiet rooms for us to retreat to, the result being that we are almost guaranteed to experience sensory overload.
Throughout my travel last year I experienced sensory overload each and every time as my flights were either delayed or cancelled multiple times. In this situation you would probably think maybe I could just ask airport or airline staff for assistance, and as they are Part of The Sunflower Program they would happily assist me, however most times this was not the case and on one occasion I was outright denied assistance. This by far was my worst experience so far.
You see late last year after a four day work trip to Brisbane and Airlie Beach I, along with a colleague found ourselves stranded at Brisbane Airport. Now for those of you who haven’t been to Brisbane Airport let me paint a picture for you. Brisbane Airport is a fairly modern looking airport that is streamlined into one big long corridor. The layout is simple, the gates and lounges are along one wall, then you have a narrow, tiled walkway with a row of shops and food courts along the other wall each playing their own loud music. It is not a pleasant experience to say the least and unfortunately the only escape from this sensory hell is the airline lounges
Photo taken at Brisbane Airport while waiting at my gate for my flight. You can see the shops had closed by this point due to the late time. You can also notice staff on their radios as the fire alarm was triggered adding to the evening's chaos.
On this occasion my Virgin Australia flight back home had been cancelled twice due to storms so I was stuck at the airport for several hours. Given the circumstances, and because I was already experiencing extreme sensory overload, my colleague and I decided to go to the airline lounge to ask what they could do to assist me as I had already made arrangements with them through their Hidden Disability Program. The staff appeared startled by my request and took some time to look on the airport website to see if there was a quiet room at the airport, only to find that there wasn’t. Their response to the situation was that there wasn’t much they could do and that they don’t provide any assistance for cancelled flights. What they did offer me was access to the lounge if I paid them $65, or they could escort me to my gate where they said it would be quieter. I turned them down on both offers as I was not going to pay for something I should already have access to due to my disability and I knew the gate lounge wasn’t going to be any quieter as it was adjacent to the busy shops.
Photo taken of me sitting on the floor of a bridge between two terminals at Brisbane Airport.
I decided instead to set out by myself to find somewhere quiet to sit and wait for my plane. After walking all over the airport for about an hour I finally found a place to sit on the tiled floor of a bridge between two terminals. This by far was not the most ideal place especially when there would always be a crowd of people walking past when planes landed but it was the only option. I was already experiencing an extreme case of sensory overload and was on the verge of experiencing a major shutdown. I honestly did not know whether I was going to make it home that night.
This experience is the reality for many Autistics around Australia as airlines and airports continue to fail to accommodate our needs. Instead, they give their staff 5 minutes of training about the Hidden Disability Sunflower Program so they can tick a box and call it a day leaving us scared and anxious every time we fly.
Airports and airlines need to do better. There is no valid excuse why they cannot accommodate our access requirements. Almost every airport I travelled through last year had some form of building work being done. Usually, to put more shops in or to add gender neutral bathrooms and phone charging stations, so why can’t they provide sensory or quiet rooms? Why can’t airlines dedicate a small portion of their expansive lounges to accommodate those of us who need a sensory escape?
The answer to this question is simple, they have not been held accountable, and they are not required by law to provide these essential facilities. Instead, they decide to hide behind company policies and tell us it would be too expensive to install such spaces. This is why I ask if you are reading this and have had a similar experience please share it in the comments below.
If you consider yourself an ally of the autism community share this blog post with your friends, family and co-workers to hold all Australian Airlines and Airports accountable for their inaction, because we should have the right to travel with peace of mind and without fear of not reaching our destination.
Together let’s urge Australian Airlines and Airports to employ autism consultants with lived experience like myself to help create an experience that can truly accommodate everyone.
Together we can make a difference!
Bryce Pace
Autism Advocate, Consultant, Speaker
P.S If you would like a second part to this blog post discussing some of the programs and facilities airlines and airports can adopt to make them more accessible feel free to let me know in the comments below.
