Florida’s Orlando International Airport is the gateway to the most magical place on Earth — and it just got a little friendlier for travelers of all faiths. Starting in September, passengers will enjoy a “reflection room” for spiritual meditation in the airport’s Terminal B.
While the space will welcome worshippers of all faiths, it was partly designed keeping in mind the practices of Muslim travelers, who adhere to a prescribed ritual prayer that involves standing, bowing, prostrating and sitting on the floor. The room will include benches but also a carpeted area where travelers can sit.
“So they aren’t having to, if it is the case, kneel on bathroom floors or in corners, so they have the reflective time,” said Carolyn Fennell, the airport’s director of public affairs. “There are amenities there for those who practice Middle East rituals.”
The prayer area also will include an ablution facility, carry-on luggage bins and racks for holding worshippers’ shoes, Fennell said. Signs marking north, east, south and west will indicate the qibla, the direction Muslims face when they offer prayers.
The room, at about 1,000 square feet, is just one part of a large $250,000 project that covers nearly 4,000 square feet and includes an international lounge and other facility enhancements, like additional electronics charging stations and concessions, airport officials said.
Fennell said the airport has seen incredible growth in international passengers — up 14 percent in the last year — and the enhancements fit in with the airport’s mission to improve the customer service experience for all passengers.
“International activity is our highest level of growth, and we have a focus on customer service enhancement. As we get more passengers, we need to add spaces that accommodate and offer amenities for diverse passengers,” Fennell said. “We’re a global connection point — the most visited destination in the country for three years running.” The Orlando area is home to the Walt Disney World entertainment complex and other attractions.
But, adds Fennell, there will be no religious symbols in the reflection room, and it will serve as a space for all passengers. The idea is not new to the airport: There has been a chapel open to all worshippers in Terminal A since the airport opened in 1981. The airport also has plans to open another non-denominational worship space in the pre-security area in 2016.
The launch of the lounge and reflection room coincides with the commencement of an Emirates direct flight between Orlando and Dubai, United Arab Emirates, that begins on 1st September. Emirates, which is headquartered in Dubai, is the largest airline in the Middle East and is the fourth-largest airline in the world in terms of international passengers carried.
