May 21, 2004

PHOENIX (AP) — Sky Harbor International Airport has installed a cleanup station to help Muslim taxi and limo drivers meet their religious needs.

Two faucets located two feet above the ground enable the drivers to conduct ritual cleansing, including washing of the feet, before they pray.

They are situated as part of washroom facilities in a fenced-off parking lot on the west side of the airport — where taxi drivers gather, waiting to be called forward to the terminals for fares.

"The cab drivers were asking for more washroom facilities as a group, and a majority of them wanted some place to wash before they pray," said Deborah Ostreicher, public information officer for the airport.

"Sometimes there are as many as 400 drivers waiting, and they can be there for hours at a time. This is a way we thought we could reach out as a customer service."

The facility was funded through airport user fees, she said, not taxpayer dollars.

Observant Muslims pray five times a day: at dawn, noon, midafternoon, sunset and evening.

Copyright 2004 The Associated Press.

http://www.usatoday.com/travel/news/2004-05-20-muslims-airport_x.htm