Airport practical tools for supporting passengers with hidden disability: a perspective of major Australian airports

Abstract

This study investigates six major Australian airports. Semi-structured interviews were determined to be a suitable approach in the present study to explore available practical resources for supporting passengers with a Hidden disability (HD). An interview process was conducted with six major Australian airport managers and customer experience managers coordinating the HD programme at their respective airports. The findings shows that the implementations of the HD programme suffered from a lack of appropriate resources to support passengers with HDs at airports, participants commented on an urgent need for providing appropriate tools to support their passengers thought their journey. Finally, it is hoped that the present study may contribute to theory and practice in meaningful ways. It might provide a more theoretical, sound, and detailed model for understanding facilities to cater the need of passengers with HD at airports.