Emirates airlines will start flying in and out of Orlando International Airport daily within a few weeks, each jet carrying hundreds of passengers from the Middle East and beyond.
Many Emirates travelers will be Muslim, prompting the airport to spend almost $250,000 to build a reflection room where people of the Islamic faith can pray. It should be open for the inaugural flight Sept. 1.
“Orlando is truly becoming a global community, and we want to be able to accommodate and provide high-quality amenities for all our passengers,” airport Director Phil Brown said in a written statement to the Orlando Sentinel.
Right now, Muslims at Orlando International must pray in public or perform religious rites in restrooms.
Some also go to the small, nondenominational chapel tucked away on Airside B, just past the security checkpoint. There are a couple of prayer rugs available there.
Father Robert Susann, the airport chaplain, said it is not uncommon to see Muslims in the chapel, including an extended family earlier this month.
“We try to cover everybody,” Susann said. “We’re doing the best we can.”
He called the reflection room a good idea, especially its location on Airside 4, where Dubai-based Emirates will be located, along with several other international carriers.
“That’s handier for them,” Susann said.
Shayan Modarres, an Orlando civil-rights attorney and Muslim, said the reflection room will be a welcome addition for the followers of Islam.
Many Muslims, he said, have felt isolated and uncomfortable in this country after the terrorist attacks of 9-11. But having a reflection room at the airport, he said, “is a great step in the right direction, especially for tolerance and inclusion.”
The room will feature an ablution area, or clean zone, carry-on-luggage bins and shoe racks, as well as directional signs for north, south, east and west.
Modarres predicted the room will be popular with Muslims, who typically pray five times a day while facing east, which is the direction of the holy city of Mecca.
“This is the right message we need to send,” Modarres said. “It’s reconciliation.”
Imam Muhammad Musri, president of the Islamic Society of Central Florida, said the room also will be open to other faiths.
“Travel involves anxiety. People are anxious when they fly,” he said. “They like to have space where they can relax and pray.”
A reflection room, he said, shows Orlando truly is an international destination.
In addition to the reflection room, airport spokeswoman Carolyn Fennell said, Orlando International also intends to build another chapel and place in the main terminal, where it can be reached without going through security.
No budget or construction schedule has been set yet, and Fennell is not certain whether the existing chapel will remain open or be closed.
Susann, who has worked at the airport for 14 years, said the chapel actually serves two constituencies: travelers and the people who work at the airport.
He has two services each Sunday and draws 15 to 30 people to each, he said.
“This is the place where we welcome people of all faiths,” he said. “I’m here to bring the presence of God to them.”