AIBU to question sunflower lanyards for adults at airports?

DP wears one as he is autistic. I have been with him on a train, and people talked to him like he was a small child. He is mid 50s.

As mentioned in my PP, people claim to have x, y and z so get away with not wearing a mask.

The sunflower lanyard is abused.

During covid and mask mandatory times, the covid deniers/anti masks brigade had them to make them 'excused' from wearing masks. They came into my store stinking of weed, coming in groups of their friends when they weren't in their household, support bubble etc. Then said to the security guards that they have asthma.

Being asthmatic myself, I found that insulting as I wore a mask. I found types that were suitable for me. Those blue disposable masks are the worst for me.

If we ever go down a similar route again, lanyards or other identifying item should only be given by medical staff. Not available freely.

I also believe the assistance system at airports is abused too. My DM has assistance as she cannot do the walking and standing. She doesn't require a medical note. Some people use the assistance system to bypass the queues etc. But they don't realise that they are the last people to leave the plane when it lands. Also, depending on the numbers on the flight, airport and size of ambu-lift, the able members of the party may have to board/disembark with the rest of the plane. On the last flight I took with my parents, my DF and I were put onto the ambu-lift as should had 15 passengers to do assistance but only 9 were remaining when name calling. Suspecting the other 6 left on their own steam. The ambu-lift at Birmingham airport held 30 people.

Also these people who abuse the system may not know that they are causing delays. As I have spoken to a few of the assistance staff at UK and foreign airports. Some of the smaller airports may have only have 1 or 2 ambu-lifts and only hold 12 people. If a flight has 30 people requiring assistance, that means 3 trips with the ambu-lift. That time is not allocated.

It's time for medical notes to be required for airport assistance.

One thing that hasn't been pointed out: wearing a lanyard can have disadvantages as well as advantages It not only alerts staff and honest passengers; it also can alert thieves, pickpockets and worse to the fact that someone is disabled and therefore possibly an easier target. Therefore I don't think that huge numbers of people will be wearing them unnecessarily.

Nobody gets left behind.

for obvious terrorism related reasons it is absolutely not permitted for a plane to take off with a bag that someone checked in in the hold and that person not on board.

either the bag is taken off (30 minute delay while baggage handlers search for it and take it off)
or staff find the person and get them on the plane.

free clue finding the person and getting them on the plane is easier.

Passenger assistance is ultimately paid for by everyone’s air fare.

it’s provided by airports purely on a self cert basis. I have never been asked for proof of my disability when travelling (and brutally there is no such thing as a disability card that is valid across the whole world - who would issue it?)

there was a big boost given to passenger assistance with the Americans with disabilities act in 1990 which required accessibility adjustments in both profit and non profit organisations.

American airports and American airlines and in fact any airline that flew to America was expected to make adjustments.

i have been to America and they are genuinely so far ahead in accessibility requirements it’s untrue.

Over there disability rights are strongly associated with veteran’s rights - so people who have fought in the American army - and there’s a real attitude of respect that seems to carry over to disabled people generally.

I was at a Walt Disney park on Veteran’s day and there were so, so many disabled people there wearing their army stuff (don’t think it was quite uniform) and genuinely random people were just going up to them and saying thank you for your service.

made me feel that you know sometimes the Americans do get something right.

so yeah, airlines pay a ground handling fee to the airport and that covers all the airport services including passenger assistance.

in any given 5 minute slot, yeah there’s a limit on passenger assistance. But in a say 8 hour slot there isn’t.

and realistically the airport prioritises as best they can. I’ve sat on a plane for over an hour (and it missed its slot for the next people) because an ambilift was broken at Stansted. That delayed a whole plane full of people. But I can’t walk off a plane no matter how much people want me to.

the airport will have a priority system for stuff like ambilifts.

if you are taking staff, then the obvious thing to do if you are short of staff is prioritise departing passengers and let arrivals wait.

we’ve all seen similar when there’s horrendous queues at security - they go through pulling out people whose flight is going asap and get them through fast.

so, in conclusion, more people with disabilities flying means: more staff on shift, if there’s a temporary shortage of staff they’ll prioritise, and the cost of these staff is included in ground handling charges that the airline pay to the airport.

No one, because if anyone gets let behind then it is due to staff issues, and not people "faking".

So which disabled person gets left behind: the blind one / the wheelchair one / or the mentally unwell one?

There’s not an infinite amount of people to put on the shift and every additional person costs money

I’m not struggling with any concept, thanks so much. I’m an intelligent woman with excellent critical thinking skills. I also happen, as the parent of two severely disabled children, to be hot on ableism. As a post-menopausal woman of two disabled children, I will never hesitate to call out anything I find patronising or offensive. Just don’t. Thank you.

We had to show documentation for proof of disability when we requested special assistance

Please can I ask you something. Why do you care so much? It's not like you get a prize, or money? It basically means nothing. It's just a reasonable adjustment to highlight you might need support. I'm disabled and I don't care if an odd few ask for lanyards who don't technically qualify, medically, for them. It doesn't harm me. I actually prefer not to wear one as I don't love sharing my medical history with everyone.

How is a lanyard "open to abuse"?

You don't get special treatment for wearing one. It is literally to show people that you have a hidden disability.
It is not like a Blue Badge or Radar key.

Exactly. Theres only so much capacity. It’s open to abuse.

I am sorry you are struggling with the basic concept of lanyard abuse. You know fine well no one on this thread is disputing the whole
idea altogether for hidden disabilities.

It's not always that simple. I had to go to France to help my MIL because FIL had died and we needed to clear out her house for her to sell it. DD1 couldn't cope with going so stayed at my parents house (she couldn't do it now, but then she could). DD2 couldn't cope with being at my parents' house, and there wasn't room, and couldn't cope with staying home alone, but also couldn't cope with coming with us. In the end, being with her Mum was the priority. Making that 'choice' didn't stop her having a panic attack, or stop her being completely non-verbal for the first 4 days of our stay. It was the least worst option but it carried a high price.

But how would anyone know she wasn’t performing? It’s not like blindness is a visible disability.

But why have assistance for people who dont need it? If everyone claimed one, then would the person in a wheelchair be at the back of the queue? Because someone who wants, but doesn't need wants priority Because its easier?

So she got to the plane first.. and has to wait ages until it takes off anyway.
Did your MIL getting on the plane before anyone else affect anyone else at all?

Careful you’ll be getting called ableist with those views 👀 . But yeah I agree.

Ive recently been on a flight where the lanyards were used by a deaf family who needed to be able to show they needed assistance, but my MIL also uses them because she suspects she has ADHD, because of it she got waved through security and then on the assisted bus to get on the flight first. She doesn't need this, she'd be absolutely fine without. It'll be another thing that gets abused and the people that actually need them will be the ones who loose out.

It's interesting, isn't it? I look well so people don't realise I'm not. I think health is something you take for granted until you don't have it. But there is doing that, which is something I understand - I imagine it's difficult to imagine a life when your entirely restricted by your health, and being actively unpleasant towards disabled people. The latter seems increasingly prevalent. Threads like this which are deeply unpleasant under the guise of faux nativity worry me. But I do think they say more about the mindset of the person writing them. A generous interpretation is that they're easily led. A more cynical one is that they're cruel.

I think the same but in reverse. What about if your baby is, in fact, secretly a doll?

Regardless of the Sunflower scheme, anyone can make a lanyard or card saying someone is blind/deaf/ND.

Etsy is full of personalised and handmade ones. All valid too.

Ok, so you want the nhs to issue sunflower lanyards for people in 70 countries?

really?

would all the disabled people from all
those 70 countries have to come over here and see an nhs gp to get issued with one? Are they going to be allowed to see the nhs gp for free?

how are they going to get here if they can’t have a sunflower lanyard until they’ve seen an nhs gp but they live in Ghana and can’t use airport assistance to get the flight from Accra to London?

or would you put an nhs gp in the each of the 350 airports that use this scheme?