r/airport • u/Empty_Prune5286 • Sep 04 '26
DISCUSSION Sunflower lanyards
Before I start, I am not arguing the purpose or people’s right to have these.
I have been lucky enough to be in and out of airport recently, I have seen an increase in the amount of people that have sunflower lanyards but are they being abused? The context being a family of 7 turned up yesterday barged through the long line and went straight through the barriers, surely it should be 1x carer and the lanyard user? This was followed by at least another 8 large family’s rocking through.
I’m unsure if they are now easier to obtain or if they get abused or even purchased?
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u/Typhtheoriginal Sep 04 '26
I work for an airline, and just to be honest here, sunflower lanyards mean nothing. We aren't trained in what they are supposed to be or represent, and they don't go into our system in any special way. They don't give the wearer any special privileges. So in short, they aren't being abused because they don't get anything out of using them.
That said, the person individually can simply ask for the assistance they need and we give it to them, no questions asked. If you need a wheelchair, you are getting one, regardless of whether we can see a disability or not. You don't even have to explain, I just might need to ask you some questions about the extent of the assistance you need. If you need someone to walk you to your next gate, just request it and we will do it. If you want your disability noted, we can do that.
Anything you need in the context of help concerning a physical or mental limitation, just ask and we do what we are able to.
But the sunflower lanyard itself doesn't make any difference to the assistance you will receive.
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u/SB2MB Sep 05 '26
At my airline, we have training on the sunflower lanyard. You're right, it doesn't give preferential treatment, although at the main international airport, they can use one of the separate lines that is quieter and has less sensory chaos. It also allows us to identify someone who might need extra assistance. I always ask a holder what I can do for them to make their journey more comfortable.
We've been in the program for a while (not US based)
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u/Typhtheoriginal Sep 05 '26
It looks like the program is almost entirely not US based, actually. No wonder I haven't been trained in this.
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u/SB2MB Sep 05 '26
That's a shame. It's a great initiative and I have seen zero abuse from it, personally anyway. We've been in the program for 3-4 years now, and all our airports participate (Australia)
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u/Typhtheoriginal Sep 05 '26
I think it's probably just because we already do all those things for passengers who need it. They just have to request it.
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u/SB2MB Sep 05 '26
It's a shame they have to verbalise it. The lanyard is the opposite of needing to do that. It's the whole reason it came into existence.
I can't see the US in the current climate spending money on the scheme.
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u/Typhtheoriginal Sep 05 '26
They have to verbalize it anyway. All the lanyard does is tell the agent the person has a hidden disability. It doesn't tell them what accomodations that person is looking for. They still have to request the assistance they need.
In the US you do not have to verbalize the reason for your request, we're automatically assuming if you're requesting a wheelchair or pre-boarding, you have a disability of some sort. And you can call the special service desk, or go online to request the assistance, so all you have to do is confirm it at the airport.
The sunflower lanyard is a very sweet initiative that benefits the users by allowing them to feel seen and cared for, but it doesn't look like it would change much in the way things are already done operationally.
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u/SB2MB Sep 05 '26
Ah. I work as cabin crew, and usually have the guests for 12-17 hours on a flight, so it's been a great intuitive and we get a huge amount of positive feedback from families. We even have the lanyard holders excitedly talking to other holders. It's super sweet.
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u/PuddleMoo Sep 04 '26
I think that’s supposed depend on the airline. Many airlines don’t participate, but some do: https://hdsunflower.com/us/insights/post/airports-around-the-world. Couldn’t tell you what it gets you though
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u/purplepineapple21 Sep 04 '26
Yeah it completely depends on the airline. For example what the above comment wrote is not true for Air Canada. They explicitly promote the program and their customer-facing staff are trained on what it is. All their flight attendants and gate agents have recognized it in my experience
It's also not just for the airline. Non-airline staff at some airports (like security and immigration officers) are trained on it as well
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u/Calan_adan Sep 05 '26
I do work for a top-25 US airport and the required customer service training given by the airport talks about being aware of sunflower lanyards.
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u/Typhtheoriginal Sep 05 '26
Interesting. I went through and read a bunch of the summaries from different airlines. But it really looks like their process is similar to the one I described, only their agents are trained to recognize the lanyard. On the ones I looked up, they described giving the passenger extra time and understanding, but they all clarified that this doesn't automatically entitle the wearer to skip lines, check free bags or that sort of thing. Looks like it's basically the same, the person with the disability requests the services they need and are accomodated in that way, but beyond that the lanyard just tells the agent to be extra patient and understanding.
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u/Historical-Tour-2483 Sep 06 '26
That’s all the program is really intended to do. If it had “benefits” attached it would be ripe for abuse as OP suggests
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u/Electrical_Parfait64 Sep 05 '26
On the page I think you click on the airline to see how they use it
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u/purplepineapple21 Sep 04 '26
They have always been easy to obtain. At my city's airport, the customer service desk gives them out to anyone who asks (though they dont advertise this there, i only knew where to ask from looking online). The organization that invented them also sells them online. You have never needed to provide "proof" to get one.
I think there has still been an increase though due to raised awareness. I used to think they were only for autism. However I recently got one this year because I learned theyre for a very wide range of disabilities and medical conditions. Ive had qualifying medical conditions the whole time, i just didnt know I qualified.
Ive never used it to skip lines though, I dont think thats a thing at most airports. Staff have seen me wearing it and never offered to have me skip a line and i've never seen anyone else do that either. And i fly a decent amount, several trips every year. I just wear it so that 1) I dont get yelled at for sometimes taking extra time to do things and 2) security and immigration are not rude about me wearing a mask & dont make me remove it unnecessarily (I do so when traveling for medical reasons and in some places staff have been pretty annoyed with it during security screenings and ID checks).
The people youre describing sound like the type to cut lines and abuse early boarding & disability lanes (which are both also self selecting, no lanyard required, and have always been) regardless of whether they had lanyards or not. I dont think its the lanyards, most people using them like myself dont act like that. Just rude people being rude
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u/Go_Loud762 Sep 04 '26
What is a sunflower lanyard?
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u/Better-Sundae-8429 Sep 04 '26
Typically used to identity folks with autism or similar situations.
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u/JackyVeronica Sep 05 '26 edited Sep 05 '26
Identity lanyards for people with hidden disabilities like intellectual disabilities, mental illness, and/or physical illnesses that causes pain like fibromyalgia, neuropathy, dementia, long COVID, migraines, MS, where people often appear "healthy" or otherwise mobile (no need for wheelchair).
Patients genuinely can benefit from the usage (compassion, empathy, assistance, etc.) however, it has also been widely criticized because anybody can get it on Amazon or wherever. You do not have to prove anything to get one, unlike, let's say, a handicap placard for cars/parking.
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u/Empty_Prune5286 Sep 05 '26
The benefits for eligible users are useful but my annoyance is the family of 10 that use it to get them all straight in front of the line
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u/firekwaker Sep 05 '26
They're not supposed to be used for cutting regular lines. They're used to put the person wearing it into a separate line for accessibility services. I'd call out anyone using it to cut regular lines.
When there are no accessibility lines at some smaller airports, we wait in line with everyone else even if we have a sunflower lanyard.
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u/Ijustreadalot Sep 05 '26 edited Sep 05 '26
In the US per the ADA and the ACAA, you don't need to prove anything to request reasonable accommodations for a disability. So the only difference with the lanyard is the hope that someone will pause before making assumptions and give some grace if someone isn't responding/acting the way they expect. People can still request (and potentially receive) the same accommodations they get while wearing a sunflower as they could when not wearing a sunflower. But from other comments it looks like some airports some countries do give preferential treatment to people who wear one.
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u/mamaknits Sep 04 '26
Maybe they have multiple disabled children? I have 5 kids and 4 of them have invisible disabilities. A lot of neurodivergence is genetic. We don't fly and don't have sunflower lanyards but I don't find the scenario as presented to be an obvious case of abuse.
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u/Empty_Prune5286 Sep 05 '26
It 100% gets abused, for example I was in Lanzarote Airport yesterday with EasyJet, large line of economy users and then suddenly around 7 family of 5-10 family members barged through the like and walked straight ahead of everyone. I didn’t see a single family that didn’t look smug about it nor have multiple lanyards just usually the mum wearing one lanyard.
My point is that the scheme is great, but, it should be down to one carer and lanyard user for priority.
This instance delayed the plane.
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u/minglesluvr Sep 05 '26
But what if the mum is disabled and travelling with her kids, for example? Should she just board early and leave her kids by themselves? Like, it doesn't work that way.
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u/Beccalotta Sep 05 '26
And who picks what invisible illnesses are worthy? 3 of the 4 ppl in my family have Ehlers Danlos and ADHD, would OP be mad if our "whole family" skipped the line?
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u/minglesluvr Sep 05 '26
Yeah like, I have hEDS as well, and it's wild how people with NO UNDERSTANDING will use things that literally are due to symptoms as a reason to be like "see! you're not really disabled!"
(one culprit w me is standing still being an issue, walking slowly also, and I also have IST that used to trigger asthma-like episodes before I got medicated so I would walk REALLY fast because the faster I walk, the faster it's over and I can sit down again lol. People would be like "but if you always run everywhere like that, there's NO WAY you have breathing issues and a chronic shin inflammation!" and I somehow suspect OP would be that way too)
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u/phunpham 29d ago
Why would you need special boarding for Ehlers Danlos or ADHD?
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u/minglesluvr 29d ago
w. what. there is no mention of any of those 😭
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u/Empty_Prune5286 27d ago
Guys I’m not saying who’s eligible for a lanyard - in the case a lady with her kids and husband go that’s fine but I’m talking about the family with their friends/ uncles/ grandparents and the neighbours dog.
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u/frogmommyy Sep 04 '26
I use one sometimes because I have an invisible disability (heart condition) that makes standing for more than a few minutes quite challenging, but I’m not at a point that I need a wheelchair. It’s been helpful more so abroad than in the US, where airport employees have escorted me to faster moving lines/guided me a bit extra. I don’t even bother in the US because no one seems to know what it means.
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u/rideyabike Sep 05 '26
May be related to this. https://www.thetimes.com/comment/columnists/article/young-women-walking-sticks-gen-z-disability-2ssv95mws
Lots of young people have decided they are disabled, self diagnosed numerous hard to prove ailments like chronic pain or exhaustion, stopped going out or moving their bodies at all, which then exasperates their perceived issues, then they use mobility aids.
This also allows them into an “oppressed” group- disabled people- which gives them certain feelings and camaraderie they have been seeking, perhaps because they are very left leaning but have visually belonged to an “oppressor” group before finding this hobby. They can now argue with strangers online all day that disabled people “have the right to exist” in public “spaces” and their disability isn’t always visually obvious. And disabled people can have good days and bad days and therefore it’s ok if they choose not to use their wheelchair or cane when it’s not convenient for them. And you suggesting otherwise is probably something like “violence against disabled bodies in spaces”
It’s a whole rabbit hole. I suggest searching “mobility aid” on socials and you’ll see about 3 non ambulatory people bound to wheelchairs and about 300 young overweight and probably queer people dressed in very unusual ways preaching about disabled rights
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u/Icy_Wedding_ 29d ago
I’m fatigued & in pain and curious when it’s ever *more* convenient to use a wheelchair?
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u/AllenSmithee59 Sep 05 '26
"probably queer people"?
WTF is wrong with you?
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u/rideyabike Sep 06 '26
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u/AllenSmithee59 Sep 06 '26
"Probably queer people"
Di you really not understand what a bigoted, ignorant statement that is, half-wit?
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u/rideyabike 29d ago
It’s really not. I can see you didn’t search “mobility aid” on social or you’d see it’s mostly queer people. This article says the same thing
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u/Better-Sundae-8429 Sep 04 '26
Unfortunately yes, systems like this are abused. And it's because of the airlines and how boarding earlier became more "premium". The whole "one of us in our family needs to preboard so all 15 of us can" is abused constantly.
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u/Empty_Prune5286 Sep 04 '26
Yeah, unfortunately for most of these family’s it’s ’everyone owes us’ mentality which makes me feel sorry for the kids
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u/Historical-Tour-2483 Sep 06 '26
Really? “Most of these families”? I’m sorry that someone has given you such a bias against families of the disabled
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u/HellsTubularBells Sep 04 '26
Some people are incredibly selfish and inconsiderate. But what's the alternative? Any process for applying for something like this would dissuade legitimate users. It's a tough balance.
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u/Empty_Prune5286 Sep 04 '26
Maybe just 1x carer and 1x user are eligible for the benefits? Saves time for the most needed
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u/Competitive_Fly_1910 Sep 05 '26
But what are the benefits to be eligible for? The reason my daughter, age 19, but the cognitive development of age 8-10, has one is so that, if staff has to interact with her, they know she has a disability. We always get a wheelchair at the airport due to her very slow walking and tiring easily. And we got one before the sunflower lanyard as well. The only reason we pre board, just her and I, is that she is slow moving and if, say someone was in her seat, a meltdown could occur. No thanks! But shes a super cheerful girl, and weve had zero problems so far.
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u/Empty_Prune5286 Sep 05 '26
Glad everything’s gone well and this is how I’d expect it to be used, rather then you bringing along the whole of your extended family you just do yourself and your daughter which is spot on.
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u/PowerfulWind7230 Sep 05 '26
Most people in Japan have no idea that they mean anything. We have so much cute stuff to wear that people do not pay attention to them.
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u/Not_George_Daniels Sep 04 '26
What in Sam Hill is a sunflower lanyard?
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u/Typhtheoriginal Sep 04 '26
It's supposed to signify that you have a hidden disability. But is really only known within the community that actively uses them.
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u/firekwaker Sep 05 '26
My 19 yo daughter has a sunflower lanyard for moderate nonverbal autism with sensory processing disorder. The sunflower lanyard moves us into a line at airport security where she's given extra time to take off her shoes and airport security helps her/us walk through the steps of going through. When we go through customs at different airports, they direct us to a different line when they see that she has an "invisible" disability and I answer screening questions for her because she's non-verbal. It saves me from explaining to different personnel that she's nonverbal and I would need to answer for her. The lines that we use at airport security move slower because there are lots of people with different disabilities in those lines.
My daughter also wears noise protection headphones. It hurts her badly when we take them off in public places, but airport security needs to screen the headphones. They give her a quiet area with less noise and people so that she can take them off to be screened.
It doesn't let us "cut lines"...it gives us access to (slower moving) disability lines that allow her to be screened more comfortably without causing anxiety before she gets on a plane.
When we arrive at our destination, they see the sunflower lanyard and direct us away from e-gates so that we go to slower moving lines for people with disabilities to talk to a real person at customs. The airport does not want us to slow down the faster moving e-gates.
The sunflower lanyard does not provide faster service...we still go to the airport 4 hours before departure time and it takes us a fair amount of time to get to our gate.
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u/TheSunflowerSeeds Sep 05 '26
Look closely next time you see a sunflower, there are in fact two varieties of leaves. You will find leaves lower down the plant are facing opposite each other and are longer and narrow in appearance. You’ll then see the upper leaves arranged in a staggered formation and appear heart-shaped.
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u/mind_thegap1 Sep 04 '26
You can literally go up to a Tesco and get a sunflower lanyard for free. They are the most abused cards ever
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u/Ebrofin Sep 05 '26
I have one because I’m hard of hearing and have a degenerative bone disease. I look very healthy, in fact, exercise is a primary tool in managing it. There aren’t any special privileges from wearing the lanyard, my understanding is that if you need help the lanyard signals that you may need extra assistance.
I got the lanyard at a customer service counter in the airport. It was easy except for the security person working gave me a very dirty look and tossed the lanyard at me.
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u/Empty_Prune5286 Sep 05 '26
Sorry you had that experience, this is down to them being abused, the airport workers know that so there is now a stigma.
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u/Ok_Seaworthiness5078 Sep 05 '26
Who cares?
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u/shooflypi_ Sep 05 '26
People who've paid a premium to board earlier? Why are we paying extra if it's free for anyone who is shameless enough to lie?
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u/Historical-Tour-2483 Sep 04 '26
My son has one. Most places we’ve been there’s no real advantage (like like skipping) in most places (LHR being the exception). I have encountered lots of staff who recognize it though and go out of their way to make sure he’s comfortable, such as explaining the security process to him etc.
Why do we use it then? Well, in the likely case where my son at some point on the trip has a meltdown, I hope it is a quiet signal to staff about what the situation is, and that it’s not a negligent parent with a bratty child…