Flying solo with a Sunflower lanyard

Pre-disability, I was totally comfortable travelling solo by airplane. However, since acquiring my chronic illness, the idea of flying by myself felt a little impossible – especially if I was taking my own transit wheelchair with me. It can be difficult to find first-person experiences of travelling by airplane with access needs, so today I thought I’d share my experience and how wearing my Sunflower Lanyard helped me out along the way.

I travelled from Leeds Bradford Airport to Alicante in Spain with Jet2 in February 2025. I’ve had many positive experiences with Jet2 over the last few years, and called them ahead of booking my flights where they readily answered my questions about how the airport assistance would work if I was travelling solo with my own transit wheelchair.

In case you don’t know, a transit wheelchair is a manual wheelchair that has to be pushed by somebody else. I’m unable to self-propel due to the nature of my chronic illness, and in the UK I mostly use an electric wheelchair. For this trip I decided the best option for me would be to fly with my transit wheelchair (my only manual chair) and rent a power-chair on the other side, but this did present some uncertainties about how I would manage in the airport by myself.

Jet2 assured me that it would be possible to travel successfully in my transit wheelchair, and informed me that any assistance before boarding the plane was the airport’s responsibility. After doing some digging online, I was reassured to see that Leeds Bradford Airport is one of over 300 airports worldwide who support the Hidden Disabilities Sunflower. This gave me some reassurance that they would be informed about and trained in assisting passengers with non-visible disabilities or less-visible symptoms like mine, and my Sunflower Lanyard immediately moved to the top of my packing list.

 

Pippa is wearing a a pink and teal jacket, a teal top, and jeans takes a mirror selfie. She is wearing a black face mask and a green lanyard with a sunflower symbol. In front of her is a wheelchair loaded with a blue duffle bag. The room has light green walls, a white door, a toilet partially visible in the background, and some medical or cleaning equipment mounted on the wall.

Arrival at Leeds Bradford

On arrival at Leeds Bradford airport, the assistance check-in point was right next to the main entrance. I let the staff know that I had pre-booked assistance and was travelling with my own mobility aid, and from there only had to wait a short while before a team member was ready to take me through check-in and security. I had ensured I was wearing my own Sunflower Lanyard before leaving the house and that it was nice and visible to staff, but I later found out that anybody who doesn’t own their own Sunflower Lanyard can request to borrow one from the airport at this point in their journey.

I had arrived in plenty of time before boarding for my flight began, so the airport assistance staff supported me through check-in at a nice, leisurely pace and pushed my wheelchair with care. Next we went through security, which is often my least favourite part of the airport experience – especially when using a wheelchair where you’re often held up on one side of the scanner as your valuables come out the other side where it’s harder to keep an eye on them. However, I saw security staff notice my Sunflower Lanyard as I followed their instructions, and this also emboldened me to share my access needs. I made clear that I could stand and walk for limited periods of time and go through the passenger scanner, independently but this period should be kept as brief as possible for my condition management.

Choosing breakfast over the gate

Once through security, passengers with assistance would usually be taken directly to a central assistance area or their gate where they would board their flight. However, because I’d left so much extra time to account for delays, the friendly airport team member who had taken over my assistance at this stage asked what I’d like to do. I appreciated being given the choice, and decided to get breakfast at one of the terminal restaurants. She took me over there and explained that I could use any nearby help points to request assistance again when I was ready, however as we’d already passed the assistance area and it was a walkable distance away from me, I let her know that I was happy to walk back there myself, pushing my lightweight wheelchair in front of me. From there I enjoyed my breakfast and a cuppa and then took myself off to their excellent Changing Places facility on the second floor, before heading back to the assistance area with plenty of time to spare.

From there, I remained in my wheelchair and watched staff take people off to their various gates to board their flights. When it was my turn, a staff member took me through my gate and onto the Ambulift with other passengers requiring assistance, where we were able to board the flight before any other travellers. At this stage my wheelchair was taken away to be put in the hold of the plane, and I walked the short distance to my reserved seat near the front of the aircraft. From there, I could rest and enjoy the journey, and it wasn’t long before we were touching down in Alicante.

Touchdown in Spain

Once again I ensured my Sunflower Lanyard was visible as staff assisted me onto the Ambulift and through border control in the airport, and I didn’t have to stand up again at all. The staff member assisted me as I collected my baggage, wheeling my suitcase at the same time as pushing my wheelchair to save me the exertion of having to try and keep hold of it myself. From there I soon found my family who were waiting for me at arrivals and exited the airport, ready to start my visit. 

 All in all, my first solo outbound journey with a transit wheelchair was a success. I think a lot of a disabled traveller’s experience hinges on how they are treated by staff throughout the process, and using the Sunflower Lanyard made me feel much more confident and empowered to ask for what I needed. At Leeds Bradford Airport and among Jet2 staff in particular, it was clear that teams were trained in how to welcome and support passengers with non-visible disabilities during their travels.

If you have similar access needs to me and you’re planning to fly solo with your own wheelchair (or with a non-visible disability in general), I really hope your trip is a success. My best advice is to leave plenty of extra time, ensure you can source water and snacks, be prepared to advocate for yourself if you need to, and don’t forget your Sunflower Lanyard!