Hi all
(My first post, so I'm a bit nervous!)
I am 60 years old and only diagnosed with Asperger's a few months ago. I'm still coming to terms with the diagnosis, but I thought it might be interesting to share my experience with preparations for air travel over the past 24 hours.
I fly quite frequently as part of my job. Next week I am due to fly to Germany and back with Eurowings.
Like many others here, I imagine, I find airports extremely difficult. As well as Asperger's, I have Ménière's and sometimes the stress aspects of the autism can trigger a vertigo attack. Plus, thanks to the Ménière's, I have severe hearing loss and tinnitus.
Yesterday I found out about the Sunflower lanyard scheme to support hidden disabilities, which seems great. I contacted someone involved with that scheme and will be getting support at Stansted https://www.stanstedairport.com/help/special-assistance/hidden-disabilities/ It will be very interesting to see how well that works!
They also advised me to contact the airline (Eurowings, on this occasion), and it is this part that I wanted to share...
I filled in the Eurowings online support form and got a message saying it would take 6-8 weeks for them to reply! So I phoned their helpline instead to ask for assistance. Once I said what I wanted, the gentleman on the other end spent some time consulting with his manager before talking further to me.
He first asked me to produce a certificate to prove I have autism. I said I do have a psychologist's case report, but I was not very willing to share it.
He then offered to provide a wheelchair, which I told him I do not need.
He then asked me to explain in detail what are my problems. I did the best I could - it's not easy! He seemed quite baffled.
He then said he could not provide someone to accompany me on the flight. I explained (I hope politely) that I do not want a person to accompany me - what I want is a fast transit, understanding staff, and access to a quiet place where I can be undisturbed.
He finally said he could not help me at all, and that was the end of the conversation.
To be fair, Eurowings is an airline, not an airport, so it's possible that they have less interest until you actually get on the plane. But even so, I was quite shocked by the lack of understanding of hidden conditions. Apparently UK airlines perform better on this. Anyway, I have sent an email (again, polite) explaining my experience and suggesting ways they might improve. I don't expect much response, but every little helps!
