Our ThinkingDesigning airports for neurodiversity: why lived experience must shape the future of travel
Air travel is often described as exciting, dynamic, and full of possibility. But for many neurodivergent passengers, the airport environment is something else entirely: a high-pressure, information-dense, sensory-intense journey that has historically been designed without their needs in mind. As the aviation sector evolves, there is an urgent opportunity, and responsibility, to rethink what an inclusive terminal truly looks like.
Neuroinclusive design starts with lived experience
Involving people with lived experience of neurodiversity in the design process is the first step to inclusive design. We work with access panels and lived experience groups to bring real feedback and collaboration straight into the design process. While every single person is different, people with lived experience can challenge and push the design in unique ways.
‘Nothing about us, without us’ is the foundation of what we do. I am a neurodivergent person, embedded in the design team. And I am speaking to a group of people with different but related lived experience, all working together to better the design. That creates a unique empathy, and can break down the hierarchy of designer/user that is an impediment to real codesign.
Our process includes a variety of methods, including user research, interviews, and workshops. In some cases, we use immersive technologies like VR to place participants directly in the environment we’re designing, allowing us to test how the terminal feels from their perspective.
Airports are still not designed for neurodiversity
Despite progress in recent years, the airport journey remains fundamentally misaligned with some passengers’ requirements. Neurodiversity is not a monolith and there are so many different ways that people think, learn and experience. But we can’t use this as an excuse for not making design changes - there is so much commonality in people’s experience in airports. Time pressure, complex navigation, overwhelming sensory input, and unpredictable procedures all combine to create an environment that many find exhausting or inaccessible.
Some airports have introduced sensory rooms, quiet routes, visual guides, or pre-visit information. These innovations are important, but they remain inconsistent across the sector. Quality and availability vary widely, meaning passengers cannot rely on a predictable, supportive experience from departure to arrival. Airports must move beyond isolated features toward a holistic, journey-wide rethink.
Rethinking the terminal: key opportunities for change
There are several key touchpoints for a terminal. Designing for neurodiversity requires attention to every touchpoint from pre-travel preparation to providing rest points at the busiest parts of the journey:
• Pre-travel preparation - Clear, engaging information about the journey helps passengers familiarise themselves with the environment before they arrive. It builds confidence and communicates what inclusive features will be available.
• More than just design add-ons - The process begins with thinking about how the design of the whole space can create a calmer environment that causes less stress and sensory overload, not providing one quiet room in a sea of noise.
• Quiet, predictable routes through the terminal - Many passengers benefit from routes that bypass sensory-intense spaces such as duty-free. For me, personally, this can be the most overwhelming part of the airport. Providing alternatives is not only inclusive, it supports smoother operational flow.
• Opportunities for calm - Airports should offer moments to decompress before and after high-stress stages such as security or boarding.
Our recent work including research with the Oxfordshire Community Rail Partnership shows that both calm sensory rooms and controlled sensory-stimulation spaces are vital. Choice is a powerful form of inclusivity.
Learning from other sectors: museums as a model
Airports increasingly see themselves as destinations in their own right: part shopping centre, part park, part cultural venue. This opens the door to learning from sectors with deep expertise in visitor experience.
Museums have a laser focus on visitor experience, and everything down to the direction people turn when they enter a gallery can be anticipated. People’s experience, in a museum or an airport, will be determined by how they feel and the memories they take away at the end of the day. We have seen major progress made in staff training and awareness in museums, especially around disability and neurodiversity, and I’d like to see more of this in airports.
Airports have the potential to be some of the most inclusive public environments in the world. The tools exist. The knowledge exists. What’s needed now is commitment to designing with, not just for, neurodivergent travellers.
Regulation helps, but leadership matters more
Consistency across airports remains one of the largest barriers to truly accessible air travel. Minimum and best practice standards are always evolving, and new developments like the European Accessibility Act will hopefully push a recognition that both physical and digital services should be providing an accessible experience for passengers. In the UK, the PAS 6463 Design for the Mind is a valuable touchpoint, but not specific to the unique challenges of aviation.
But leadership often comes from those who go beyond compliance. Our development of Heathrow’s Inclusive Design Standard is one example of what is possible when airports commit to co-creating standards with people who have lived experience. This approach - ambitious, context-specific, and forward-looking, is where real change happens.
The future of neuroinclusive travel
If one airport offers an exceptional experience, but the destination airport does not, the journey is still exclusionary. Creating consistent, confident travel for neurodivergent passengers requires collaboration across the sector, shared standards, and a willingness to learn from the people who understand these challenges best.
Airports have the potential to be some of the most inclusive public environments in the world. The tools exist. The knowledge exists. What’s needed now is commitment to designing with, not just for, neurodivergent travellers.
Written by:
Fionnuala O’Sullivan
Principal Accessibility and Inclusive Design Consultant
Nuala has a wealth of experience providing technical inclusive design guidance across all project stages and various sectors, including mixed-use & residential masterplans, commercial, transport & universities. Nuala is a passionate advocate for socially equitable, data-driven design solutions in the built environment. Nuala has NRAC accreditation at consultant level and is a Universal Design Assessor for the Civic Trust Awards.
