Solo travelling and Airports

Haven't travelled solo through an airport yet, but will be next year. I have travelled through with a sunflower lanyard in a group. I think the experience differs by airport, but here are some experiences I've had. In all of these cases, I never contacted the airport or airline beforehand, and have never had to prove any diagnosis. I'm still awaiting assessment for autism so my lanyard is for anxiety, which is supposedly vary rare to be diagnosed.

I arrived at the airport and met my group. There was a seating section with the sunflower logo, but I didn't use it.

We then proceeded down the queue barriers for check-in. There was a staff member at one of the barriers, who lowered the barrier and told our group "this way", a few seconds later and possibly because others in the group looked confused, he said "because of the lanyard". As with all of these interactions, he didn't look at what was on the card. He just saw the lanyard. I thanked him, and we joined a much shorted queue to the check-in desk. We were checked in within 5 minutes.

Then we went to security. This was Manchester Airport, which has signs with the sunflower on. There was a staff member at the assistance lane, but said sunflower lanyards were down the normal queue that day. Not sure why, but wasn't an issue, and the queue was fairly short anyway.

I believe Manchester Airport has quiet areas, but I didn't see sunflower logo, and didn't use them. I believe the location is mentioned on the website.

On a plane once, a flight attendant noticed the lanyard during the safety briefing. After the briefing finished, she cam over and just said "I noticed the lanyard, is there anything we can do to make you more comfortable?" I replied that I was ok, and thanked her.

On return, passport control at Manchester, I believe they had the sunflower logo along with the family lane. At Newcastle I didn't see the sunflower logo so queue in the normal lane. When I got to the desk, they said I can use the assistance lane next time.

The sunflower lanyard has also been noticed while abroad. When I landed at Amsterdam Shipol, a staff member noticed the lanyard. There was a bit of a communication barrier, but with some "lanyard" hand signals, I was pointed to the smaller passport control queue. This was the first time using it so our group got split in the confusion. Me and a friend that followed beside me ended up in the shorter queue, got through passport control, and were half way through our beers before the other 2 members of the group caught up.

My nephew is diagnosed autistic and will often say about being able to get on the plane first. As my mum always points out to him, that just means you're stuck on the plane longer. Might depend on if your in a window seat if it's worth taking advantage of that or not.

Haven't travelled solo through an airport yet, but will be next year. I have travelled through with a sunflower lanyard in a group. I think the experience differs by airport, but here are some experiences I've had. In all of these cases, I never contacted the airport or airline beforehand, and have never had to prove any diagnosis. I'm still awaiting assessment for autism so my lanyard is for anxiety, which is supposedly vary rare to be diagnosed.

I arrived at the airport and met my group. There was a seating section with the sunflower logo, but I didn't use it.

We then proceeded down the queue barriers for check-in. There was a staff member at one of the barriers, who lowered the barrier and told our group "this way", a few seconds later and possibly because others in the group looked confused, he said "because of the lanyard". As with all of these interactions, he didn't look at what was on the card. He just saw the lanyard. I thanked him, and we joined a much shorted queue to the check-in desk. We were checked in within 5 minutes.

Then we went to security. This was Manchester Airport, which has signs with the sunflower on. There was a staff member at the assistance lane, but said sunflower lanyards were down the normal queue that day. Not sure why, but wasn't an issue, and the queue was fairly short anyway.

I believe Manchester Airport has quiet areas, but I didn't see sunflower logo, and didn't use them. I believe the location is mentioned on the website.

On a plane once, a flight attendant noticed the lanyard during the safety briefing. After the briefing finished, she cam over and just said "I noticed the lanyard, is there anything we can do to make you more comfortable?" I replied that I was ok, and thanked her.

On return, passport control at Manchester, I believe they had the sunflower logo along with the family lane. At Newcastle I didn't see the sunflower logo so queue in the normal lane. When I got to the desk, they said I can use the assistance lane next time.

The sunflower lanyard has also been noticed while abroad. When I landed at Amsterdam Shipol, a staff member noticed the lanyard. There was a bit of a communication barrier, but with some "lanyard" hand signals, I was pointed to the smaller passport control queue. This was the first time using it so our group got split in the confusion. Me and a friend that followed beside me ended up in the shorter queue, got through passport control, and were half way through our beers before the other 2 members of the group caught up.

My nephew is diagnosed autistic and will often say about being able to get on the plane first. As my mum always points out to him, that just means you're stuck on the plane longer. Might depend on if your in a window seat if it's worth taking advantage of that or not.

To remain calm and comfortable, I make sure I'm there in plenty of time so that I'm not rushing or panicked that I'm going to miss my flight. I have noise cancelling headphones and have a playlist/audiobook/podcast to listen to. You could also look for mobile games which work offline, or a puzzle book is a good one. I like planes though so I can happily sit looking out of the window in fascination once we're moving. I also grab a meal deal from duty free as airline food is extortionate, limited quantity and terrible.