This Airline Will Become the World’s First Autism Certified Carrier

A breakdown of Emirate’s Sunflower program.

Emirates Airlines will officially become the world’s first Autism Certified Airline, making travel more accessible to travelers and families of travelers with autism. More than 30,000 Emirates cabin crew and ground staff are currently undergoing training to better understand the disorder and how they can accommodate individuals on the autism spectrum. The Dubai-based airline will introduce services to improve the on-ground and inflight travel experience for patrons on the autism spectrum along with their traveling companions.

“As a leader in the aviation and travel industry, we want to make sure people with accessibility requirements can fly the world with confidence,” explains Suhail Amshan, Emirates’ manager of accessibility and inclusion.

International air travel can be an extremely daunting and taxing experience for autistic individuals and their families. A survey on AutismTravel.com, conducted and collected by the International Board of Credentialing and Continuing Education Standards, revealed that 78% of families with autistic members and individuals who are on the spectrum 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 are autism-trained and certified.

“I am excited that airlines are working to become autism certified,” exclaims Jackie Dunson, mother of Jeramiah Dunson, who is diagnosed with autism. “As a parent with four small children, I already expect people to give judgmental looks when traveling, but I feel it much more because one of my children is autistic. I’ll take any break I can get, even if it’s just knowing an airline has been trained to be around people with autism.”

Flying over a million passengers across six continents, Emirates has partnered with the International Board of Credentialing and Continuing Education Standards (IBCCES), an organization raising the bar for training and certification in autism and neurodiversity. Training includes educating employees on misconceptions of the neurodevelopmental disorder, challenges facing those on the spectrum, potential triggers, and the variety of ways in which they can assist passengers and their companions.

In 2023, 23,000 Emirates staff completed the “Introduction to Autism and Hidden Disabilities” training, the fundamentals and prerequisites to the training the staff is currently undergoing. This prior training taught staff members ways to recognize signs of autism, how to best assist passengers, and how to communicate with travelers with compassion and understanding. In 2024, all four Emirates check-in facilities at Dubai International Airport attained a Certified Autism Center Designation.

Pre-Travel

Emirates’ new digital aids, called sensory guides, on Emirates’ Accessible Travel page, will notify passengers about the sound levels, lighting, sights, and possible smells they’ll encounter on the ground and in flight, to facilitate pre-travel preparation. There is also an autism-friendly guide to Dubai International Airport (DXB) that offers images and a detailed explanation on each segment of the journey. Travelers can declare a hidden disability at an Emirates office to access free seat selection and bulkhead seating. When booking in person, over the phone, or through a travel agent, a special service request code can be applied to the booking to ensure the passenger will be assisted by trained staff throughout the voyage.

Once a hidden disability has been noted, passengers are able to wear a sunflower lanyard, provided at collection points across all terminals in Dubai International Airport, to discreetly identify themselves to employees. The lanyard also gives the traveler and their family access to dedicated check-in, security screening, immigration, and passport control lanes. These lanes can be identified by the sunflower stickers on the ground and counters.

“The most helpful feature that could be implemented for parents of autistic children is being able to seamlessly get through security, passport, and immigration lines,” adds Dunson. “My seven-year-old autistic son, Jeramiah, has a sensory disorder which could be affected by the sounds, lights, or even the moods of the people around him.”

Prior to travel, passengers can pre-select movies (audio description and closed caption available) and meals for a variety of dietary restrictions so they know what to expect and to allow a quicker and more comfortable transition to being in flight.

During Travel

Emirates offers People of Determination–a term used in the United Arab Emirates to refer to people with disabilities–complimentary two-hour parking at Dubai International Airport (DXB). Taxis equipped for People of Determination can also be booked through Dubai Taxi’s toll-free number (+971 8008888). When it is time to board, passengers who have declared their disability can opt to board first or last, depending on which makes them more comfortable. The inflight experience has been designed to be as seamless and stress-free as possible by ensuring those who have declared a hidden disability are seated next to their traveling companion.

“I hope that passengers could be kind. This is a very cliche statement for autism, but it’s truly the only way to sum it up. Every person with autism is so different. If a passenger is seated near an autistic person, it’s hard to know what that plane ride will look like,” says Dunson.

The interior cabins of all Emirates flights are equipped with mood lighting to replicate sunrise, daylight, and sunset. A “Fly with Me” activity pack, which includes non-toxic colored pencils, coloring pages, world maps, puzzles, and educational activities about the environment and Dubai, can be requested during the flight. To reduce certain behaviors that may arise during the flight, Emirates plans to offer neurodiverse sensory products, such as fidget toys, later this year. Emirates is unable to share product descriptions at this stage.

The New Standard

In addition to working closely with IBCCES to undergo onsite reviews and thorough audits, neurodiverse travelers with experience, their traveling companions, and healthcare experts were part of a team that gave input into the development of training standards.

“We continue to be on our journey in responding to the diversity of disabilities and multiplicity of access needs,” says Amshan. “Our focus on hidden disabilities, autism, and sensory sensitivities is in line with our commitment to making travel inclusive and accessible for everyone. We supported UAE’s hosting of the Special Olympics World Games in 2019, the largest multi-sport event with 200 National Programs and 7,000 athletes.”

Emirates is not able to share the training completion date or the date all on-ground in-flight services will be implemented, but the designation of becoming the world’s first Autism Certified Airline is set to be officially awarded to Emirates by the International Board of Credentialing and Continuing Education Standards (IBCCES) in the next few months.