ORLANDO, Fla. — Orlando International Airport is opening a reflection room where Muslim travelers can pray.
Airport officials announced last week they were opening the room ahead of the start of service of Emirates Airline at the Orlando airport.
Direct daily flights between Orlando and Dubai start Sept. 1.
The flights are expected to bring more Muslim travelers to the Orlando airport than it has previously experienced.
Currently, Muslim travelers to Orlando International Airport must pray in public or in a nondenominational chapel.
The reflection room will have a place for pre-prayer washing, racks so worshippers have a place to put their shoes while praying and signs showing which way is north, south, east and west since Muslims typically face Mecca when praying.
But, some waiting for the USO to get its own space at the airport say it’s a slap in the face.
Though the airport said it supports both projects, only one of them will receive financial support.
The airport spent $250,000 on the reflection room, which is open to people of all faiths but caters to those who practice Islam. The facility will open Sept. 1 in time for the Emirates Airlines inaugural flight.
The USO, however, wasn’t as fortunate.
The airport will donate space to the USO for a facility only once the military nonprofit raises $1,000,000, and the facility will receive no financial support from the airport.
That’s not sitting well with some military members and their relatives.
Mildred Richardson, who lost a brother in combat and who recently welcomed home another brother from Afghanistan, said a USO space at the airport is long overdue.
“That's not right. That's no fair at all. Actually, it's idiotic,” she said. “Military people should feel welcomed no matter where you go. [They] are serving our country.”
The airport said they can't fund the USO facility because it’s a nonprofit organization, but it said it will help to find sponsors.
WFTV
