Empathy training

Simulation for airport staff

In this mode, airline staff can undergo ‘empathy training’ through a simulation that allows them to experience their familiar, everyday work environment and routines in the way people with various disabilities or travel anxiety might encounter it. This helps them better anticipate and support all passengers, which will ultimately make for a better passenger experience as well as more efficient facilities.

In consultation with Autism Spectrum Australia, we developed an ‘overstimulation’ mode in which staff experience obscured vision, intense flickering lights, and a variety of high pitched or persistent mechanical noises all around them as they navigate the airport and interact with the facilities. This immersive experience develops a greater understanding of challenges and the causes of elevated levels of anxiety, which will ultimately help them identify non-visible disabilities more readily so they can support all travelers with greater awareness and sensitivity.