I recently returned from a two week holiday, which included international flights and associated airporting (is that a word??). For the first time, I used my sunflower lanyard. At first I felt vulnerable and a little weird, but soon got the hang of it and realised just how much this lanyard was worth.
At Adelaide Airport the staff proactively approached me and asked if I needed any help – no questions asked. At the check-in line a staff member offered to do a visual check of my passport so I didn’t have to stand in the queue (as a person with POTS, I have massive queue anxiety!). I was then directed through the special assistance lane at security, then the same staff member from the check-in area tracked me down in the gate lounge, and helped me board the plane before everyone else. Then, when I got on the plane, a crew member gave me a big bottle of water (again, hugely appreciated when the amount of water you can take on international flights is limited).
Then I disembarked at Fiji airport. I was unsure how much they knew about the sunflower in Fiji, but I was soon identified and offered to go through fast-track immigration. My family were also given this option so we could move together. A similar experience on the way back, with Fiji airport staff proactively identifying me and offering me to board first, and the ability to fast-track through immigration in Adelaide. Throughout this experience I also built confidence in approaching staff for help and found on every occasion that as soon as they saw the lanyard, they very politely helped me with my request – again, no questions asked.
By the end of the trip, I felt I had fully embraced what my family and I called “sunflower power”. It relieved a huge amount of travel anxiety and has made me a lot more comfortable about the future prospect of travelling.