Autistic-led insights on airport accessibility: A retrospective analysis of environmental assessments

This publication is included in the Autistic Autism Scholarship Project. one author of this publication is identified as autistic in the project.

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Edwards, C., Love, A., Cai, R. Y., Tutton, T., Beardsley, E., & gibbs, v. (2025). Autistic-led insights on airport accessibility: A retrospective analysis of environmental assessments. Autism, 29(8), 2151-2162. https://doi.org/10.1177/13623613251337200

Journal or book title
Autism
Publisher
SAGE Publications
Volume
29
Issue
8
Pages
2151-2162
Publication date: 9 May 2025 Added to AutiHub: 5 Jul 2026 Type: Article Article language: English
Publisher source (DOI) OpenAlex source

This publication is integrated into AutiHub through:

Authors

Publication authors
6
Publication authors identified as autistic
1 / 6 (16.7%)
  1. Chris Edwards *
  2. Abigail Love
  3. Ru Ying Cai
  1. Tom Tutton
  2. Emma Beardsley
  3. vicki gibbs

Abstract

Autistic people often encounter significant barriers when navigating airports, largely due to overwhelming sensory environments, stringent security procedures, and crowded spaces. This study aimed to enhance understanding of airport accessibility by retrospectively analyzing reports from Autistic-led environmental assessments conducted at six Australian airports between 2017 and 2024. Drawing on an evidence-informed autism-friendly framework, the assessments focused on eight key elements, including sensory adaptations, communication supports, and preparation and predictability. Through reflexive thematic analysis, two key themes were generated: (1) navigating the sensory landscape and (2) help passengers navigate with confidence. Our findings underscore the importance of sensory adjustments-such as natural lighting and quiet spaces-alongside clearer visual aids and communication supports. Importantly, this study represents the first systematic application of autism-friendly principles to airport environments, offering practical, evidence-based recommendations for more inclusive design. By foregrounding the perspectives of Autistic individuals, this research highlights the need for participatory design approaches to create public spaces that are genuinely accessible and supportive for Autistic travelersLay abstractAirports can be challenging for Autistic people because of overwhelming sensory experiences like bright lights and loud noises, security processes, and crowded spaces. This study analyzed reports from six Australian airports, produced between 2017 and 2024, to understand how airports can be made better for Autistic travelers. These reports were based on assessments led by Autistic people and used a specific framework to evaluate areas like sensory experiences and communication needs. The study found two main ways to improve accessibility: (1) reducing sensory challenges, like loud noises or bright, overwhelming areas, and (2) improving communication and wayfinding to make navigation clearer and easier. Some of the recommendations included providing quiet spaces for travelers, using softer and more natural lighting, and improving signs to make it easier for people to navigate airports. This is the first study to apply autism-friendly principles to airports and shows the importance of involving Autistic people in the design of more inclusive public spaces. The findings offer practical recommendations for airports around the world to better support Autistic travelers.

Bibliography cited by this reference

Cited references are imported from external metadata sources when they are available. The list may be partial.

Cited bibliography overview

These indicators describe the bibliography cited by this publication. An author name is counted each time it appears in one cited reference, so the same person can be counted more than once. Names not yet linked to an author already present in AutiHub are treated as unknown, not as non-autistic. Last computed: 3 Oct 2026 01:00.

Cited references
37
With a DOI
33
Without a DOI, from raw bibliography text
4
14 / 37 (37.8%) cited references include at least one author identified as autistic.
References with data to complete
4 / 37 (10.8%)
References with detected author names
34 / 37 (91.9%)
Without detected author names
3
Without a structured title
4
Without a stable identifier
4
References with raw author names still to review
3
References with external metadata lookup issues
0
These indicators apply to cited references displayed on this page, after technical duplicates have been merged. A reference without a DOI can still support author statistics when a title and author names are available.
Author names detected in the cited bibliography
139
From DOI or external metadata
139
From validated raw bibliography text
0
Raw names already validated
0
Raw names still to review
3
76 / 139 (54.7%) names are linked to an author already present in AutiHub. 63 / 139 (45.3%) names are not yet linked.
Names linked to a person identified as autistic
18 / 139 (12.9%)
Calculated across all author names detected in the cited bibliography. Among names linked to an author already present in AutiHub: 18 / 76 (23.7%). Distinct people identified as autistic: 15 / 127 (11.8%).
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