Hidden disabilities

In 2016, we worked with a number of charities to identify how we could improve the airport experience for passengers who may not want to share details of their hidden disabilities.

If this applies to you or someone you're travelling with, we can offer you a lanyard to wear on your journey through our airport.

If you are wearing the lanyard, staff should recognise it and understand that you have a hidden disability and that you may need a little extra help or time. However, they will not know what your particular disability is, or what challenges and issues you may face. If you have specific requirements, please ask a member of staff for help.

Please note that the lanyard does not offer fast track or queue jump during your airport journey, but staff will be mindful and if you are wearing a lanyard they will do what they can to support you.

To pick up a lanyard at Gatwick, please go to one of our assistance reception areas. We will be happy to give you a lanyard, even if you don’t require special assistance. You can keep your lanyard and use it again in the future.

The National Autistic Society has some helpful advice on what to do if you're travelling with children or adults with autism. We also produce an autism friendly visual guide to travelling through Gatwick Airport which will help familiarise you with what to expect at the airport in advance of your holiday. 

Children and young people with ADHD are very susceptible to anxiety and find any change to their normal daily routine potentially stressful. We recommend that you take time to prepare your child for the journey in advance and bring lots of activities to keep them busy at the airport and on the plane. 

Airports can be busy and confusing at the best of times. If you have dementia then these feelings are amplified many times and the airport can become bewildering. Alzheimer's Society produces a really useful factsheet with tips and advice about planning a holiday for people affected by dementia, including arranging travel insurance. 

We are committed to making Gatwick accessible to everyone and have been rolling out Dementia Friends to our front line staff. Dementia Friends has enabled staff to understand more about dementia, so that they are able to recognise and offer more support to passengers and their travel companions. 

If you have Crohn’s Disease or Ulcerative Colitis (the two main forms of Inflammatory Bowel Disease or IBD) you may find the thought of travelling quite daunting, whether that’s due to toilet accessibility, going through security with a stoma bag or other IBD related concerns.

To help with any anxiety and make sure you have a more positive travel experience, Crohn’s and Colitis UK have put together a travel and IBD factsheet to help you feel more comfortable when planning a vacation or business trip.   

Despite the safety of flying, you may be one of the many people who feel nervous in advance of your trip. If this is spoiling the idea of your holiday, then help is available. 
Find out more about self-help tutorials and courses for nervous fliers run by airlines. 

Gatwick is the first UK airport to open a sensory room. It is a calming and relaxing environment, designed for passengers with disabilities like autism, dementia or cognitive impairment, who will benefit from a safe and distracting place when in unfamiliar surroundings.

The sensory room is wheelchair accessible and free to use to passengers departing from the North Terminal.

What’s in our sensory room?

The ‘chill-out zone’ for those needing calm includes floor cushions, bean bags and digital display panels, which generate colourful visual wall features. The separate ‘interactive zone’ stimulates the senses through activities including:

• Catherine wheel - colour and sound displays including firework effects.
• Abstract tactile panels – raised and recessed fluid shapes in contrasting textures.
• Colour match panel – classical music, mood lighting, and game to improve memory, colour recognition and motor skills.
• Sound to light show – sounds converted into a dazzling light show of colour.
• Waterless rainbow tube – colour wheel with both calming and stimulating effects.

How do I book?

To use our sensory room before your flight, you must pre-book to guarantee your space - Click here to choose your time and book

Where is it located?

The sensory room is located after security, so can only be used by passengers flying from our North Terminal.