Alex Trelinski
ALICANTE-ELCHE airport will become Spain’s first airport to have a special room for passengers with autism spectrum disorders(ASD).
A lounge will be created close to the boarding area to offer a safe environment for travellers with ASD.
The move is part of the airport’s Passenger Experience Quality Plan.
The new lounge will have an area of over 97 m2 and will contain interactive items to minimise stress that can rise during an airport experience- especially for children and younger people.
Airport owner Aena says the room will ‘contain tactile, luminous, and audiovisual elements to control environment and can deal with individual sensitivities of each user’.
Local ASD associations have been consulted on what should go into the lounge.
A special video is also being made to show the process involved from arriving at the airport to finishing up at the boarding gate.
The aim is to offer people with ASD a greater peace of mind when arriving and checking in.
Besides the new lounge, a meeting room will also be created that can be hired.
The cost of both projects will come in at just under €198,000.
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