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How it started..

Kees Hoekstra
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​In my daily work at KLM's Customer Care department, where I worked for a long time, I regularly came across stories of families who flew with a child with autism. The problems they encountered were sometimes distressing, which is why many families refrain from flying due to the abundance of incentives, the long queues, the security check and the boarding procedure. All these mandatory actions cannot be prevented, but they do cause some unrest. As the father of an 18-year-old daughter with autism, these stories really appealed to me. How can you have a relaxing flight with all these obstacles? I decided to do something about this. This became the starting point of 'Flying with Autism'



Not words but actions​

 

In November 2016 I decided to set up a project to raise awareness of the subject among both airlines and parents who were having the same problem.

 

​Facebook page

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I decided to start a community page on Facebook to see if there was a need for more awareness. Within a short time the page had more than 5000 followers and the number is still growing.

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Hidden Disabilities Sunflower

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In 2021, we were approached to open a branch of Hidden Disabilities Sunflower for the Netherlands and Belgium. I decided to leave KLM and fully dedicate myself to people with a non-visible disability. Now 8 years later, in 2024, Flying with Autism has become an official Foundation and, together with Inge Meeuwes-Muis, I am passionately committed to improving flying with autism even more.

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                                                                - Kees Hoekstra -

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