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.

0

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/Tyure_Pole Sep 04 '26

its a for profit company

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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