WINDSOR LOCKS, Conn. — For the first time, brother and sister Ethan and Amelia are getting on a plane at Bradley International Airport on Tuesday.
They’re both on the autism spectrum and being at the airport can be overwhelming.
"Going through security, practice taking off your shoes, you’ve got to put all of your belongings on the belt cause that could be difficult for them," said their mom Nicole Witcraft of Waterford.
Their family has a vacation planned to Disney World next year but before they go, they’re getting in some practice.
"It’s definitely important because they need that exposure before we really go somewhere," Witcraft said. "It will take that anxiety of out for both them and us as parents," she said.
They were among the dozens of families participating in a boarding exercise at Bradley International Airport. They went through all of the steps of a real flight from going through a TSA checkpoint to getting on a Breeze Airways plane.
"Before they get on board you’ll see a lot of apprehension some anxiety, when you see them come off, you’ll see big smiles and delight," said Alan Day, CEO and co-founder of Autism Double-Checked.
The organization, which trains people in the hospitality industry on how to meet the needs of families with children with autism, led the event.
Autism Double-Checked was born out of Day's own need for help.
"I have a son who’s on the spectrum and we found that there were some difficulties in traveling with him. I researched what help was out there for traveling with autism and of course the answered to that turned out to be zero," Day said.
That need still exists. This is the second time the exercise has been done at Bradley this year, doubling in size to meet demand.
"We were oversubscribed by so many people that we decided immediately we needed to do it again and do it so that everybody else who wanted to be a part of it could," said Breeze Airways president Tom Doxey.
Breeze Airways said, its team members are trained to help passengers of all needs.
"We are about to become the only carrier in the U.S. to be certified by Autism Double-Checked for having a significant number of our staff trained," Doxey said.
Exercises like this one help both staff and families feel more prepared.
"This is really where it all gets brought together," Day said.
Even though the wheels never left the ground the families still soared one step closer to being able to do the real thing.
Gaby Molina is a reporter and anchor at FOX61 News. She can be reached at mmolina@fox61.com. Follow her on Facebook, X and Instagram.
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