A few weeks before the Thanksgiving and winter holiday travel season begins, Miami International Airport and American Airlines hosted the airport’s latest MIA Airport Instruction and Readiness (MIAair) tour for more than 40 children with special needs from local schools and their parents or guardians. The tour allowed participants to rehearse the air travel experience from start to finish, all the way to an airplane seat, in a safe and controlled environment.
The children practiced entering the airport, getting boarding passes, going through security, and boarding an American Airlines plane with the airline’s gate agents and flight crew. The program also served as a learning experience for airline and airport workers at MIA. The goal of the MIAair program is for anyone – regardless of their disability – to experience the magic and wonder of flight. Since launching the MIAair tours in 2015, in partnership with UM-NSU Center for Autism and Related Disabilities (CARD), MIA has hosted tours for more than 200 children with special needs.
For more information about MIA’s award-winning MIAair program and its other accessibility services, visit the MyMIAccess home page.