This is how you turn a layover into a lifeline

Travel days are rarely easy—but for a group of seven students traveling from Denver to London, their layover in Houston became the most memorable part of the trip. It started with a simple request. On Saturday, March 22, at 12:58 p.m., group leader Nora Baars sent an email to Houston Airports. Most of the students in her care are on the autism spectrum, and the travel disruptions they'd already endured—rerouted flights, long nights in terminals—had taken a toll. Their new itinerary included a two-hour layover the following day at George Bush Intercontinental Airport (IAH), and Baars had one question: Could a therapy dog visit the group while they waited?

Behind the scenes, that single note set off a swift and compassionate response. Anthony Brown, ADA coordinator for Houston Airports, received the inquiry and quickly escalated it to Andrew Czobor, who oversees customer service and guest experience at IAH. Czobor passed it to Ella Ghica, manager of outreach initiatives and volunteer programs. By 7:54 p.m., just seven hours later and on a Saturday night, Ghica had the answer.

“Great news!” she wrote. “I am happy to inform you that I was able to get one of our dogs to visit us tomorrow at IAH for this request.”

The dog was Snickers—one of the newest members of the Houston Airports Pet Therapy program. “That is awesome news,” Brown replied. “I am so proud and blessed to be part of a team that truly cares for our travelers.”

But the care didn’t end there.

When the students arrived Sunday evening, they were greeted not just by Snickers but by an entire team prepared to go the distance. Madalina Vaduva, a customer service supervisor, met them at the gate and escorted them by electric cart to Terminal D’s Sensory Room, which opened in late 2024. There, Snickers was waiting.

In photos taken that night, Baars is seen clutching tissues, her expression a mix of exhaustion and gratitude.

“She couldn’t stop saying thank you to the IAH team for all the support we provided,” Ghica later shared. “She asked me a couple of times if all airports in the nation provide the same kind of service as we do.”

They don’t. Not like this.

“We have a team that has creative minds, willing hands and feet and big hearts,” Brown said in a note to the team.

Even when the flight to London was delayed again, Houston Airports staff stayed with the group until boarding. Ghica personally coordinated with a United Airlines agent to ensure the students could be among the first to board—one final gesture in a night full of them.

“Trying to make it from one flight to another while traveling with a group like this can be extra stressful,” Ghica said. “We want to make sure that our airports in Houston are remembered and known for offering the best customer service in the industry.”

In the architecture of air travel, there are terminals, ticket counters and timelines. But the things passengers remember aren’t always printed on boarding passes. They remember kindness. They remember the people who made them feel seen. And in Houston, on a quiet Sunday night in March, that’s exactly what they received.

LEARN MORE | Accessible travel at IAH

LEARN MORE | Accessible travel at HOU

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