WEST COLUMBIA, S.C. — The security checks, the crowds, and the hustle and bustle of an airport can be overwhelming to anyone, but especially for people with any kind of disability.
For mom Candice Scott, she says just getting through the airport is a journey.
"It's a lot of crowds, a lot of people trying to get where they need to go, and it's too much for you and me, but it's 10 to 100 times too much for an individual with disabilities, especially those with autism," Scott said.
Although getting onto the plane can be a stressful process, Columbia Metropolitan Airport is working to make the process a breeze for people like the Scott family by working alongside The Arc, Delta, Paradies Lagardere, and Foth Infrastructure to bring about the Wings for All event.
On Saturday, during Wings for All, families got to pick up a boarding pass, go through a TSA security check, wait at a gate, and then board a Delta plane to run through the airport experience.
Thirty families participated, including 4-year-old Zi'Mair Robinson and his grandfather Robert Robinson.
"We hope that he will take well to flying. He travels well in a vehicle, so we're hoping that he'll travel well on an airplane so we can take family trips," Robert Robinson said.
Those 30 families make up a fraction of all passengers with disabilities traveling across the United States.
According to the U.S. Government Accountability Office's latest study, in 2019, 27 million passengers with disabilities took to the skies. In more recent studies, the same agency has started researching the barriers these passengers face when going through the airport.
Scott says that the Wings for All Event will help her family with their travels in the future.
"I was already thinking, I'm going to get on my phone and see what we can book for flights," Scott said excitedly.
Other Wings for All events continue to take place across the country this month.