New initiative aims to make Moncton airport more accessible
Starting Tuesday, passengers inside the Greater Moncton Romeo LeBlanc International Airport will see more than just boarding passes and luggage thanks to a new worldwide initiative aiming to put accessibility at the forefront.
The airport has opted into the hidden disabilities sunflower lanyard program, an initiative that started in England in 2016, and officials are hopeful it will make a big impact for people travelling with hidden disabilities.
“Everybody’s coping with something, but we can’t always see what somebody’s dealing with on the inside so this is that subtle way for someone to communicate, ‘I may be going through something or I may have a condition that you can’t see,’ but it creates maybe additional anxiety or exceptionalities as they go through the airport," explained Courtney Burns, president and CEO of the Greater Moncton International Airport Authority.
The bright green and yellow sunflower lanyards are more than just a visual reminder.
A collection of hidden disabilities sunflower lanyards. (Alana Pickrell/CTV Atlantic)
Burns says airport staff went through training with Accessibility New Brunswick before officially launching the program on Tuesday.
“If you see somebody with the lanyard on maybe they do need some help and support, they might need help navigating their way through the airport, they may need something explained to them in a different way than others, the accommodation that they may want is going to be different from person to person,” she said. “So what we learned is that it’s important to just ask, how can I help you? Do you need any help today?”
She says the Romeo LeBlanc is one of the first airports in Atlantic Canada to adopt the initiative, but it is spreading quickly amongst airports and airlines and she expects other Maritime airports will ask questions about jumping on board.
“I think any symbol that can help somebody that does have a hidden disability just have a better experience through their airports is a good thing,” she said. “As we know, airports and your travel journey is a series of interconnected stops, an ecosystem, and if it’s in more airports, your travel experience can feel more consistent from place to place.”
Shelley Petit, the chair person with the New Brunswick Coalition of Persons with Disabilities, says this launch is an important step forward for the Maritimes and she’s been advocating for something like it for several years.
“35.3 per cent of New Brunswickers 15 and over, based on the latest census, have a disability and out of that, 70 per cent of those are invisible, which means you can’t see it, but it doesn’t make the disability any less real for us,” she said.
She hopes this visual initiative means people with invisible disabilities — such as autism, dementia, MS, hearing loss, and many others — won’t have to continually explain their situation.
“The trauma it takes away, that’s what it is, there’s no more re-traumatization over and over and over because we feel like we have to defend, non-stop, our disability and we shouldn’t have to do that,” she said.
Years ago, she travelled from Saint John to Fort McMurray with her two children — one of whom lives with autism — and her sister.
She says the sunflower lanyard program would have made a huge difference for her family.
“There was just basic things that were just so difficult to do and there were people getting upset because she would repeat things on the plane, but it’s who she is,” she said. “There’s nothing she can do about that and something like that would have just gotten a little more help from the stewardess.”
While Petit calls this a step forward, she says it will only be effective and have a positive impact if staff have the proper training and everyone is on the same page.
She says this could look like working with people and asking them directly how they need help and making sure everyone is using the same appropriate language.
“Things like, don’t say to someone, because we will hear this, ‘but you don’t look disabled.’ […] My go to answer now is what does a person with a disability look like and then we get a lot of stammering. You cannot make assumptions,” she said.
Passengers looking for a lanyard for their next trip can either pick one up at the volunteer desk directly across from security or they can call ahead and request one from reception staff.
For more New Brunswick news visit our dedicated provincial page.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Stamp prices rise for the third time in five years amid financial woes for Canada Post
Canada Post is increasing stamp prices for the third time since 2019, a move the Crown corporation says is a "reality" of its sales-based revenue structure.
BREAKING Winnipeg man admits to killing four women, claims he's not criminally responsible
Defence lawyers for Jeremy Skibicki have told the court the accused unlawfully caused the death of four women, but argue he is not criminally responsible due to mental disorder.
WATCH Avian flu: Risk to humans grows as outbreaks spread, warns expert
H5N1 or avian flu is decimating wildlife around the world and is now spreading among cattle in the United States, sparking concerns about 'pandemic potential' for humans. Now a health expert is urging Canada to scale up surveillance north of the border.
Italy's white-collar mafia is making a business killing
Italy's mafia rarely dirties its hands with blood these days. Extortion rackets have gone out of fashion and murders are largely frowned upon by the godfathers.
The story of how a B.C. man found his birth mother
After his adopted parents died, Dave Rogers set out to learn more about his birth mother. DNA results and a little help from friendly strangers would put him on a path to a small town in England.
Trump fined US$1,000 for gag order violation in hush money case as judge warns of possible jail time
The judge presiding over Donald Trump's hush money trial fined him US$1,000 on Monday for violating his gag order once again and sternly warned the former president that additional violations could result in jail time.
An El Nino-less summer is coming. Here's what that could mean for Canada
As Canadians brace themselves for summer temperatures, forecasters say a weakening El Nino cycle doesn’t mean relief from the heat.
Holocaust researchers use AI to search for unnamed victims
Researchers in Israel are turning to artificial intelligence to comb through piles of records to try to identify hundreds of thousands of Jewish people killed in the Holocaust whose names are missing from official memorials.
Russia warns Britain and plans nuclear drills over the West's possible deepening role in Ukraine
Russia plans to hold drills simulating the use of battlefield nuclear weapons, the Defense Ministry announced Monday, days after the Kremlin reacted angrily to comments by senior Western officials about the war in Ukraine and Moscow warned that tensions with the West are deepening.