Sky Harbor airport hosts workshop to support travelers with dementia

PHOENIX - From the sights and sounds to swarms of people, navigating Sky Harbor International Airport can be overwhelming for anyone, let alone for those also navigating dementia.

"I’m going to presume that there’s plenty of people who go through this airport every day who are touched by dementia, or they are caregivers for people with dementia," said Craig Roybal.

Local perspective:

Sky Harbor remains committed to helping families like Tanya Moriarty's, who has had two people with dementia.

"Traveling with my mother-in-law before and all of the planning we did and still we had some issues," said Tanya Moriarty.

It is why she came out to Sky Harbor's annual dementia-friendly travel workshop to learn about all the ways Sky Harbor is dementia-friendly.

"It’s my home airport, and I was blown away by all the things that I didn’t know, and I use this airport almost on a weekly basis," said Moriarty.

What It Is:

Like the Compassion Corner in Terminal Four, where people can escape to a low-sensory room for quiet, equipped with chairs and puzzles. Or the "compassion cacti" lanyard, which passengers wear, letting airport employees know they may need a little extra time moving through security. Sky Harbor also has navigation guides available and technology where people can sync their hearing aids to drown out the extra noise but still get important flight information.

Why you should care:

"I was also not aware that my home airport is the only one in the nation, so really proud of that too," said Moriarty.

"This airport is for everybody, and it should be available and accessible to everybody," said Roybal.

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