Emirates and a Johnstone Club Dry-Run Glasgow Airport

Emirates ran Scotland’s first autism travel rehearsal at Glasgow Airport on 8 March 2026, walking Autastic Club families from check-in to a mock boarding call. The airline published the session on 13 May 2026 and called it the first of its kind in Scotland, after a London rehearsal earlier that year.

The brand on the desks was Emirates. The people who filled the queue were a Johnstone additional support needs club, and they were moving through a terminal that already had quieter pre-visits, a visual guide and sunflower lanyards.

What an Emirates Travel Rehearsal Covers at Glasgow?

The Glasgow session ran the full passenger journey in order: check-in, security, the departure lounge, a mock boarding with customer announcements, then a fake arrivals run through immigration, passport control, baggage collection and meet-and-greet. Autastic Club families also rode a bus on the airfield and watched an Emirates aircraft come onto stand.

Jabr Al-Azeeby, Emirates’ divisional vice president for the UK, tied the day to the London session and to the ground team that had to open live airport rooms for a drill.

Following our first travel rehearsal programme in London earlier this year, we are proud to bring the initiative to Scotland with our first session in Glasgow.

Jabr Al-Azeeby, divisional vice president UK, Emirates, 13 May 2026

He added that the session would not have been possible without the Emirates Airport Services team in Glasgow, who organised and hosted it. That is the unglamorous half of an “autism-certified” product: someone still has to borrow security, a gate and an arrivals belt on a day when no one is actually flying.

THE MOCK JOURNEY ON THE DAY

• Check-in: Families practised the desk, including mock boarding passes, and Autastic Club said its logo was spread across the check-in row.
• Security: The group walked the search process with airline and airport staff beside them, without a live departure clock.
• Lounge and gate: They used the departure lounge, then a mock boarding with customer announcements.
• Arrivals loop: Immigration, passport control, baggage collection and a meet-and-greet were run as if a flight had just landed.
• Airfield extra: The club wrote that it also got a bus around the runway and watched the inbound Emirates aircraft arrive.

In some cities on the same programme, Emirates teams have also put children onto a real aircraft. Glasgow’s published write-up stops at mock boarding and the arrivals drill, plus the airfield bus the club described after the visit.

Autastic Club Walked Families Through Every Desk

Autastic Club was founded in 2021 by Ashley McSwegan and Angela Armour after they struggled to find a venue that let their autistic sons, Reuben and Shay, be themselves. It runs Saturday play sessions at Johnstone Community Sports Hub and a wider calendar of family events. Emirates did not invent that group for a photocall; it invited a club that already knew which local families would find an airport brutal.

Armour, a co-founder, put the value in plain terms after the Glasgow day.

We are very grateful to Emirates and Glasgow Airport for delivering such a positive and valuable experience.

Angela Armour, co-founder, Autastic Club, Emirates statement, 13 May 2026

She said chances like this support people who feel hesitant about travel, particularly those with additional support needs. After the visit the club wrote that staff “couldn’t have done anymore for us if they tried,” that the children left with a buffet and gifts, and that the airline listened to views on what else would make the airport journey easier. That last point is the one that does not fit on a press still: the rehearsal is also a complaint box with a boarding pass in it.

A rehearsal still leaves the hard work with the family. Parents who already fly with autistic children often spend months on the boring extras, an empty suitcase through a practice check-in, videos of the actual departure hall, a plan for bags and a child who may run. One guided afternoon at Glasgow cannot replace that homework. It can show the family which desk to find, which uniform to look for, and that the inbound jet is loud on purpose.

The Airport’s Own Quieter Pre-Visits

Glasgow Airport did not start from zero on 8 March 2026. Its autism page already tells families to contact the assisted-travel team before they fly, and it already offers pre-visits when the airport is quieter so first-timers can walk the passenger route. It publishes a visual guide to planning the journey, and it tells autistic passengers to book DPNA help with the airline and to have the word Autism added as a comment.

SUPPORT PATHS THROUGH GLASGOW AIRPORT

The airline rehearsal sits on top of that kit rather than replacing it. Glasgow’s own tour is a walk through the building. Emirates added airline kit the airport page does not promise: mock boarding passes, a fake boarding call, an arrivals loop, and, on this day, a bus on the airfield. Families who never fly Emirates still need the Host Desk, the DPNA code and the quieter pre-visit.

More Than 35,000 Staff, One Certification

Emirates bills itself as the world’s first autism-certified airline. The designation is awarded by the International Board of Credentialing and Continuing Education Standards, which sells Autism Certified Airline staff training and audited Emirates on long-haul and short-haul flights. The rule in the certification pack is that at least 80% of customer-facing staff complete the course, with a promise of ongoing training.

By 13 May 2026 the airline said more than 35,000 cabin crew and ground staff had finished specialised autism awareness training. That course covers the spectrum, common misconceptions, travel triggers and how to vary help for one passenger at a time. It sits on an earlier internal course, Introduction to Autism and Hidden Disabilities, which 23,000 staff completed in 2023.

THE PROGRAMME IN NUMBERS

• Staff trained: More than 35,000 Emirates cabin crew and ground staff, per the airline’s 13 May 2026 Scotland note.
• Families reached: More than 250 families on the global rehearsal programme, per Emirates on 20 April 2026.
• Cities: More than 40 cities since April 2025, including Glasgow, Edinburgh, London, Newcastle and Stansted.
• Survey: 78% of families are hesitant to travel or visit new places, and 94% said they would take more holidays if staff were autism-trained and certified, according to a survey on AutismTravel.com that Emirates cites.

IBCCES also surveyed more than 14,000 people with a range of disabilities, including autism and sensory conditions, plus families and caregivers, and folded in an IATA industry survey and feedback from 1,200 industry professionals before it wrote the airline standard. The commercial logic is sitting in those two percentages: a certified cabin is a way to win trips that never get booked.

Training does not quiet the security hall. A survey figure of 78% is why a Johnstone club still had to walk the building on a Sunday in March. The certification is a staff product. The rehearsal is an admission that the building still has to be practised.

How Do You Book Autism Help at Glasgow Airport?

Book help with the airline as DPNA assistance and ask for the word Autism on the booking. On the day, go to the Assisted Travel Host Desk on the ground floor of the main terminal. Staff can issue a hidden disability lanyard there; they will not post one in advance.

DPNA is the code airlines use for a passenger who needs help because of an intellectual or developmental disability. Glasgow Airport says that code, plus the Autism comment, is what lets the assistance desk understand the booking once you arrive. If you already wear a lanyard and do not want extra help, the airport still wants you to check in at the desk so staff know you are in the building.

The lanyard is the Hidden Disabilities Sunflower lanyard scheme, a green ribbon with yellow sunflowers. Glasgow says front-line security staff are trained to recognise it and to offer extra help in the search. It is a signal for time and patience. It is not a pass to the front of the queue, and the airport will not post lanyards because they are issued when you present yourself.

Assisted travel at Glasgow is run by a contractor. The published contact on the autism page is 0141 842 7700, monitored around the clock for this service only, and AssistedTravelGLA@abm.com, watched on weekdays from 0900 to 1700. That desk is the piece of the system that is still there on a Tuesday in August when Emirates is not running a rehearsal and Autastic Club is back at the sports hub.

More Than 40 Cities on the Same List

Emirates’ Office of Accessibility and Inclusion turned early Dubai drills into an official programme from April 2025. By 20 April 2026 the airline said Airport Services teams had arranged rehearsals in more than 40 cities and had reached more than 250 families worldwide. The named list in that note already included Glasgow and Edinburgh, alongside London, Newcastle and Stansted in the UK.

Sami Aqil Abdullah, senior vice president for Emirates Airport Services outstation and business support, called the run a success across six continents and credited airport partners, parents and teachers as much as his own staff. He said the airline would keep adding locations through 2026. An Edinburgh group leader, quoted in the same 20 April 2026 note, described captains waving from an A350 on stand as the highlight of that city’s day. Scotland’s “first” at Glasgow was not Scotland’s only.

FROM A JOHNSTONE PLAY SESSION TO A GLOBAL DRILL

1. 2021: Ashley McSwegan and Angela Armour found Autastic Club in Johnstone.
2. 2023: 23,000 Emirates staff complete Introduction to Autism and Hidden Disabilities.
3. 8 January 2025: Emirates announces it will become the first Autism Certified Airline, with IBCCES to award the designation once training lands.
4. April 2025: The Office of Accessibility and Inclusion rolls the travel rehearsal out as an official global programme.
5. 8 March 2026: Autastic Club families walk Glasgow Airport with Emirates and airport staff.
6. 20 April 2026: Emirates says the drill has reached more than 40 cities and more than 250 families, including Edinburgh.
7. 13 May 2026: The airline publishes the Glasgow session as Scotland’s first.

Elsewhere on the same circuit, a 13-year-old named Noah in Dusseldorf said he was not afraid anymore and might fly again next year. A parent in Angola said they had not travelled in ten years out of fear for their child and hoped, after the rehearsal, to plan a trip. Those lines are the product Emirates is buying with 35,000 trained staff: not a quieter airport, a family willing to book.

Frequently Asked Questions

What Is an Emirates Travel Rehearsal?

It is a guided dry run of the airport journey, arranged with airport, border and security teams and a local school or autism group, using mock boarding passes and meetings with uniformed staff; at some airports the team also gets children onto a real aircraft, and on live Emirates flights sensory fidget toys are available in every cabin for neurodiverse or nervous passengers.

How Do You Book Autism Assistance at Glasgow Airport?

Ask your airline or agent to add DPNA assistance and the word Autism, then on the day go to the Assisted Travel Host Desk on the ground floor of the main terminal, where staff scan the boarding card; the contractor line is 0141 842 7700 (24 hours, this service only) and AssistedTravelGLA@abm.com is read Monday to Friday, 0900 to 1700.

What Does the DPNA Code Mean on a Booking?

DPNA is the industry code for help linked to an intellectual or developmental disability, and Glasgow Airport also wants the word Autism written as a comment so the desk can read the file; even if you already have a lanyard and want no extra help, the airport still asks you to check in at the desk so staff know you are airside.

What Is the Hidden Disabilities Sunflower Lanyard?

The sunflower lanyard was designed in 2016 after London Gatwick asked how staff could tell that a passenger had a disability that did not show, and it is a green ribbon with yellow sunflowers that you can collect without proof of diagnosis; wearing it asks for extra time and clearer communication, and it does not put you at the front of security.

When Did Emirates Become an Autism-Certified Airline?

Emirates announced the IBCCES Autism Certified Airline plan on 8 January 2025, and the standard was built from research with more than 14,000 disabled people and caregivers, an IATA industry survey, feedback from 1,200 professionals and flight audits; separate from that work, Emirates’ four Dubai check-in sites received Certified Autism Center status in April 2024.

When the mock boarding ended, Autastic Club stayed long enough to see a real Emirates aircraft arrive. The children left with gift bags. The club left a list of what still needs fixing on a live travel day, when the announcements are not a drill and the security tray is theirs.