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Air travel

Hugers

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!

Parents

  • Hi Hugers, So sorry to hear about your negative experience! I love travelling (with EasyJet usually) and theyvth been great... I always book Special Assistance and tick the relevant boxes, so there are no awkward face to face questions or interrogation on arrival at the airport...

    Commenting on your recent diagnosis too, I was diagnosed with autism in January of this year and, even though peoope have been telling me that I'm autistic for decades, it came as a bit of a shock and I felt low. I needed time to get my head around the diagnosis and now I'm so pleased that I'm finally getting the support I need....its i opened up doors for me and helped me along my journey...

    Be kind to yourself, be patient with yourself and fingers crossed your diagnosis results in a better understanding of your condition and a better life going forward.

    A :-)

Reply

  • Hi Hugers, So sorry to hear about your negative experience! I love travelling (with EasyJet usually) and theyvth been great... I always book Special Assistance and tick the relevant boxes, so there are no awkward face to face questions or interrogation on arrival at the airport...

    Commenting on your recent diagnosis too, I was diagnosed with autism in January of this year and, even though peoope have been telling me that I'm autistic for decades, it came as a bit of a shock and I felt low. I needed time to get my head around the diagnosis and now I'm so pleased that I'm finally getting the support I need....its i opened up doors for me and helped me along my journey...

    Be kind to yourself, be patient with yourself and fingers crossed your diagnosis results in a better understanding of your condition and a better life going forward.

    A :-)

Children
  • in reply to AnnaSpanna

    Dear Anna - thank you very much for your sympathetic reply. I found out about the special assistance possibilities too late this time, but even so the sunflower lanyard people have promised to help me at the airport, so all is not lost. I'll let you know how it goes when I actually travel. Probably it will be better than I fear, as Plastic has suggested, especially if I can be clear about my needs.

    Yes, the diagnosis is really quite world-changing. I am being fairly careful who I talk to about it. A few people have already expressed disbelief, which is quite difficult to accept when it has been something of a struggle to get to this point. However, the very good news is that has been liberating in terms of the way I see my own past. I am able to understand (and forgive) why certain things happened. And generally I have a very good life anyway, so this is really a bonus.

    I will remember your advice! Thank you.

  • in reply to AnnaSpanna

    Hello, this is a really interesting thread. I’m recently diagnosed too and have always found flying a nightmare. Not so much the plane, it’s the airports. I end up crying in the loos every single time! 

    I hadnt even considered that I’d be able to get assistance once I had a diagnosis. What you’ve described plastic sounds perfect. I will make sure that I ask next time. Do you ask the airline or the airport?

    Hugers - Good luck! I hope you manage ok on your journey. I’d be interested to know how it all works at stanstead. I’d not heard of sunflower lanyards, that sounds like a great idea.