As part of Autism Awareness Month, several milestones have been achieved on Emirates’ journey to make travel more accessible for all. One year after Emirates’ first successful “travel rehearsal,” the program is now being rolled out across 17 cities. This program allows children with autism to practice the journey through the airport in order to prepare for real flights.
Emirates has also achieved its designation as the world’s first Autism Certified Airline™, employing more than 30,000 cabin crew and ground staff now trained to support affected customers. Throughout April, Emirates highlighted autism awareness to millions of global passengers on its award-winning inflight entertainment system, ice. The content included movies like Temple Grandin, Ezra, and The Flight of Bryan, as well as podcasts about Dubai’s autism-friendly mission, documentaries like Copa 71, BBC docuseries Inside Our Autistic Minds, and Carl the Collector—a cartoon about a racoon character with autism.
Adel al Redha, Deputy President and COO of Emirates, said, “Emirates has been driving and facilitating good progress in accessible travel, and it is part of our operational strategy. We continue to work on this mission to make travel more inclusive. At the beginning of 2024, we were recognized as a Certified Autism Center™… Now we are also rolling out our Travel Rehearsal program in cities across the globe, to break barriers and make travel accessible for everyone. This is part of our social and professional responsibility.”
The Year of Community
Globally, Emirates has started rolling out its travel rehearsal program to 17 cities including Barcelona, Brisbane, Budapest, Cebu, Christchurch, Dubai, Durban, Luanda, Madrid, Manila, Mauritius, Manchester, Montreal, Nice, Oslo, Paris, and Toronto, with more destinations committing to the program every month.
The Travel Rehearsal concept first began in 2023, as a community collaboration between Emirates, Dubai’s Department of Economy and Tourism, Dubai Airports, the General Directorate of Identity and Foreigners Affairs, Dubai Police, and Dubai Customs, and several schools and centers for autism in Dubai, whose feedback was invaluable to the process.
Institutions like Safe Center for Autism, The New England Center for Children’s® (NECC®) Clinic, Rashid Center for People of Determination, and Dubai Autism Centre were invited to Dubai International (DXB) to experience a simulation of an airport journey. The children along with their teachers and carers got to practice checking in, dropping baggage, and going through immigration and security. They experienced the hustle and bustle of Duty Free while familiarizing themselves with the airport, boarding passes, and the many individuals encountered along the way.
Parents, therapists, and teachers involved in the travel rehearsals reported that the experience has been invaluable in helping children have a safe and successful flight due to the comfort of preparation and familiarity, as well as trained staff to support.
Emirates is introducing the travel rehearsal initiative in many cities on its network. They’re partnering with airports, authorities, local centers, and foundations. Currently, this is not a bookable service and is available on an invitation basis in collaboration with accredited centers.
The World’s First Autism Certified Airline™
Emirates has achieved its goal of becoming the world’s first Autism Certified Airline™. This was achieved by training 30,000 cabin crew and ground staff on sensory awareness to support customers. The aim is to educate Emirates’ teams on the spectrums, and misconceptions or challenges faced by autistic individuals. This equips Emirates’ frontline staff with myriad ways to assist customers dependent on their individual needs, and potential stimulus and triggers that staff should be aware of.
The inaugural designation will be awarded by the International Board of Credentialing and Continuing Education Standards (IBCCES), a leading organization in neurodiversity training and certification. Emirates worked collaboratively with IBCCES for more than a year to create the training after detailed reviews and a comprehensive audit. Using a data-driven approach, Emirates and IBCCES developed a new blueprint for serving passengers with accessibility requirements, encompassing the entire journey—from ground to in-flight services.
For many people with autism, due to the high level of sensory stimuli, air travel is a challenging experience or something they avoid completely. A survey on AutismTravel revealed that 78% of families are hesitant to travel or visit new locations, and that 94% of respondents would take more vacations if they had access to places where staff were accessibility-trained and certified. Emirates’ mission to make travel more inclusive and accessible for all also supports Dubai’s ambition to become the most accessible destination in the world.
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