AIRPORTS and airlines need to develop guidelines for growing numbers of patients travelling with dementia, a QUT researcher has said.
Dr Maria O'Reilly is lead researcher for a Dementia Collaborative Research Centre project investigating the impact of air travel on people with dementia.
She told the Australian Institute of Gerontology Conference the team had collected information from 41 companions and eight people with dementia and were also surveying flight crew and security staff.
"With more than 300,000 people living with dementia in Australia, two thirds of whom are living in the community, and a projected increase to 900,000 by 2050, the pool of potential travellers with dementia is large," she said.
"But no airline in Australia currently has guidelines for passengers travelling with dementia or other cognitive impairments.
"Without these guidelines, travellers play a guessing game and might not notify anyone of their special needs for fear of being precluded from flying."
Dr O'Reilly said initial results showed that on average, companions and people with dementia took two trips per year, with international travel making up 52 per cent and domestic short travel 48 per cent.
Navigating the airport and security checkpoints were the most difficult aspects of air travel.
Findings showed that at least half of the people surveyed had experienced problems with checking in, bag screening, finding boarding gates, finding bathrooms, hearing announcements and reading information on sign boards.
"Some people with dementia have trouble following directions and may become confused when something they don't expect occurs," Dr O'Reilly said.
Tips to reduce problems included arriving early so there was no need to rush, letting staff know that you needed help, ensuring the person with dementia had at least one travelling companion if possible and using quality noise-cancelling headphones to block cabin noise when on board.
