Exploring autism-friendly initiatives in Australian airports: ‘A lot better than a lot of airports that I’ve experienced’

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., & gibbs, v. (2024). Exploring autism-friendly initiatives in Australian airports: ‘A lot better than a lot of airports that I’ve experienced’. Current Issues in Tourism, 29(14), 2878-2894. https://doi.org/10.1080/13683500.2024.2422049

Publication date: 29 Oct 2024 Added to AutiHub: 5 Jul 2026 Type: Article Article language: English
Publisher source (DOI) Full text OpenAlex source

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Authors

Publication authors
5
Publication authors identified as autistic
1 / 5 (20.0%)
  1. Chris Edwards *
  2. Abigail Love
  3. Ru Ying Cai
  4. Tom Tutton
  5. vicki gibbs

Abstract

This study examines the effectiveness of autism-friendly initiatives implemented at two major Australian airports: Sydney and Gold Coast. As accessible air travel is essential for the social inclusion of Autistic individuals, ensuring that airports meet their specific needs is critical. Focusing on the lived experiences of Autistic adults and parents of Autistic children, the research seeks to assess how well these initiatives align with the needs of Autistic travellers and to identify any opportunities to further enhance airport accessibility. Through reflexive thematic analysis of interviews with 13 participants, the study generated themes related to persistent sensory challenges, the importance of planning and accessible quiet spaces, and the significant benefits associated with the Hidden Disability Sunflower lanyard. Although participants acknowledged the strides made in improving accessibility, they also highlighted areas that would benefit from further attention, particularly in communication and proactive support from airport personnel. The findings emphasise the pivotal role airports play in either facilitating or hindering the travel experiences and opportunities of Autistic individuals. The study concludes with a call for policy and practice reforms, advocating for the broader implementation of standardised autism-friendly initiatives and comprehensive staff training to ensure a consistently supportive environment for Autistic travellers.

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: 2 Oct 2026 07:56.

Cited references
32
With a DOI
28
Without a DOI, from raw bibliography text
4
6 / 32 (18.8%) cited references include at least one author identified as autistic.
References with data to complete
4 / 32 (12.5%)
References with detected author names
28 / 32 (87.5%)
Without detected author names
4
Without a structured title
4
Without a stable identifier
4
References with raw author names still to review
4
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
129
From DOI or external metadata
129
From validated raw bibliography text
0
Raw names already validated
0
Raw names still to review
4
28 / 129 (21.7%) names are linked to an author already present in AutiHub. 101 / 129 (78.3%) names are not yet linked.
Names linked to a person identified as autistic
6 / 129 (4.7%)
Calculated across all author names detected in the cited bibliography. Among names linked to an author already present in AutiHub: 6 / 28 (21.4%). Distinct people identified as autistic: 6 / 126 (4.8%).
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