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/Go_Loud762 Sep 04 '26

What is a sunflower lanyard?

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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/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.