Emirates expands global Travel Rehearsal programme across all UK airports

Emirates has successfully hosted its Travel Rehearsal programme across every UK airport it serves. This marks a key milestone in strengthening how Emirates supports people with accessibility requirements across its global network, helping them feel more confident when flying.Emirates’ global “Travel Rehearsal” programme offers guided simulations of the full air travel journey, familiarising participants with airport procedures and the onboard experience before they travel. The sessions in the UK took place at London Stansted, London Heathrow, London Gatwick, Birmingham, Newcastle, Manchester, Glasgow, and Edinburgh.

To deliver this initiative, the airline has partnered with various special needs schools and Additional Support Needs groups across the UK, with more than 90 participants taking part so far. Supported by airport and airline staff across all eight gateways, participants were guided through check-in, security and the departure lounge, before experiencing the arrivals process, including immigration and passport control, baggage collection, and arrivals meet-and-greet.

Jabr Al-Azeeby, Emirates’ divisional vice president, UK, commented: “We are incredibly proud to have now brought this global initiative to every Emirates gateway across the UK, from Scotland down to London. As the world’s first autism-certified airline, we are committed to helping remove some of the invisible barriers that people with accessibility requirements can face when travelling. These sessions would not have been possible without the dedication of our Emirates Airport Services teams, who helped organise and host these experiences. We’ve had great feedback from attending families, and we look forward to continuing the programme across our UK airports and supporting even more people to travel with greater confidence.”

Making travel more accessible

Emirates became the world’s 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.

Since April 2025, Emirates’ 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, Düsseldorf, Edinburgh, Glasgow, Guangzhou, Hanoi, Harare, Hong Kong, Istanbul, London, Luanda, Lusaka, Madrid, Male, Mauritius, Milan, Newcastle, Nice, Orlando, Oslo, Paris, Pampanga, Peshawar, Port Luis, Rome, Stansted, Stockholm, Sydney, Toronto, Trivandrum, Venice and Vienna.