NEW YORK, JUNE 15 – Enac’s Project ‘Autism – Traveling through the Airport’ – was highlighted at the 16th UN Conference on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. The Italian National Civil Aviation Authority, at the invitation of Minister for Disabilities, Alessandra Locatelli, illustrated the Italian experience that enables people with autism to travel by air in serenity.
The initiative, designed to facilitate air travel for people with autism, is part of the body’s many activities related, by institutional mandate, to the protection of the rights of passengers and people with disabilities. Starting on November 23, 2015, the project was launched, through a pilot test, at Bari Airport with the contribution of the Società di Gestione Aeroporti di Puglia (Airport Management Company of Puglia), to then extend the initiative to all major airports through ASSAEROPORTI (Italian Airport Management Association). Some 20 airports are joining to date, including Fiumicino and Malpensa.
ENAC is among the first civil aviation authorities in Europe to launch a project specifically for people with autism. The initiative aims to provide some simple recommendations addressed to accompanying persons to help children and adults with autism to accept their journey serenely, allowing them, through a procedure identified by ENAC in coordination with the management companies, to be able to prepare with the airport reality in advance. (@OnuItalia)
