Emirates recently hosted its global \u201cTravel Rehearsal\u201d programme at Humberto Delgado Airport in Lisbon, giving children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and their families the opportunity to familiarise themselves with the airport journey before travelling.<\/p>\n
Delivered in partnership with ANA|VINCI Airports, Associa\u00e7\u00e3o PARA \u2013 Projeto de Apoio e Recursos para o Autismo, Menzies, and the PSP (Public Security Police), the initiative reflects Emirates’ ongoing commitment to creating a more accessible and inclusive travel experience.<\/p>\n
Participants completed each stage of the airport journey from check-in and baggage drop and security screening to border control and boarding, visiting an Emirates aircraft and meeting the cabin crew\u2014before experiencing the arrivals process, including baggage reclaim and customs. By rehearsing each step-in advance, families were able to become familiar with the airport environment, helping to reduce anxiety and build confidence ahead of future travel.<\/p>\n
David Quito, Emirates Country Manager for Portugal, said:<\/strong><\/p>\n “Making travel more inclusive begins long before boarding. Every passenger experiences travel differently, and by working closely with our partners we can help remove barriers and make the journey more accessible. We’re delighted to bring the Travel Rehearsal programme to Lisbon and give children and their families the confidence to travel with greater ease.”<\/i><\/p>\n Patrick Mendes, President of Associa\u00e7\u00e3o PARA, said:<\/strong><\/p>\n “Many families avoid travelling because of the uncertainty and sensory challenges airports can present. Experiencing the journey in a safe, supportive environment helps reduce that uncertainty and shows families that travel is possible. This initiative is closely aligned with our mission of promoting greater inclusion and participation for people with autism, and we’re grateful to all the teams that helped make it possible.”<\/i><\/p>\n Francisco Pita, Chief Operating Officer of ANA|VINCI Airports, said:<\/strong><\/p>\n “At ANA|VINCI Airports, we’re committed to making our airports more accessible and inclusive for everyone. Initiatives like this help reduce anxiety and barriers for passengers with different needs, while strengthening collaboration across the aviation community. We will continue improving our services and preparing our teams to better support all travellers and their families.”<\/i><\/p>\n Making travel more accessible<\/strong><\/p>\n Emirates became the world\u2019s first Autism-Certified Airline, with more than 35,000 cabin crew and ground staff completing specialised autism awareness training. The programme equips employees with in-depth knowledge of the autism spectrum, common misconceptions, challenges faced during travel, and personalised support strategies tailored to individual passenger needs.<\/p>\n Since April 2025, Emirates\u2019 Airport Services teams have come together to arrange more than 40 of these travel rehearsals for over 250 families across airports like Accra, Antananarivo, Athens, Bali, Bangalore, Barcelona, Bologna, Brussels, Cairo, Cebu, Christchurch, Da Nang, Delhi, Dubai, Dublin, Durban, D\u00fcsseldorf, Edinburgh, Glasgow, Guangzhou, Hanoi, Harare, Hong Kong, Istanbul, London, Luanda, Lusaka, Madrid, Male, Mauritius, Milan, Newcastle, Nice, Orlando, Oslo, Paris, Pampanga, Peshawar, Port Louis, Rome, Stansted, Stockholm, Sydney, Toronto, Trivandrum, Venice and Vienna.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Emirates recently hosted its global \u201cTravel Rehearsal\u201d programme at Humberto Delgado Airport in Lisbon, giving children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and their families the opportunity to familiarise themselves with the airport journey before travelling. Delivered in partnership with ANA|VINCI Airports, Associa\u00e7\u00e3o PARA \u2013 Projeto de Apoio e Recursos para o Autismo, Menzies, and the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":72148,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[12],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-72147","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","animate-on-scroll"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.dubaicityguide.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/72147","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.dubaicityguide.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.dubaicityguide.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.dubaicityguide.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.dubaicityguide.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=72147"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/blog.dubaicityguide.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/72147\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":72149,"href":"https:\/\/blog.dubaicityguide.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/72147\/revisions\/72149"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.dubaicityguide.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/72148"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.dubaicityguide.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=72147"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.dubaicityguide.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=72147"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.dubaicityguide.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=72147"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}