Emirates and El Dorado Airport Conduct Colombia’s First Travel Rehearsal for Individuals on the Autism Spectrum
Emirates, recognized as the world’s first autism-certified airline, hosted a Travel Rehearsal event at El Dorado International Airport, marking a milestone as the first activation of its kind staged in Colombia.
The initiative aligns with the carrier’s commitment to accessible travel and the “El Dorado Más Accesible” (El Dorado More Accessible) program, whose core objective is to make air travel more predictable, comfortable, and inclusive for individuals on the autism spectrum.
This initiative allows passengers with accessibility requirements to take part in an end-to-end simulation of the passenger journey, familiarizing themselves in advance with both landside airport procedures and the on-board cabin environment.
Step-by-Step Simulation: Comprehensive Operational Familiarization
During the session at the Bogota terminal, local participants from the autism community walked through each critical phase of the airport journey:
- Check-in and Baggage Drop: Initial contact with customer service agents and baggage processing.
- Security Screening: Controlled transit through passenger screening checkpoints.
- Boarding and Aircraft Tour: Boarding an Emirates aircraft and receiving a welcome from cabin crew members.
- Arrival Procedures: A full simulation of the post-touchdown process, including baggage claim and customs clearance.
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Highlighting the scope of the initiative, Gianmarco Mazetti, Emirates Area Manager for Colombia, stated:
“As the world’s first autism-certified airline, we are proud to advance our commitment to making travel accessible for everyone. The Travel Rehearsal provided participants with the opportunity to experience the airport journey in a calm, supportive environment, helping them build confidence and feel prepared for future flights. We thank El Dorado International Airport for their support and for sharing our vision to empower individuals across the spectrum to travel with ease. This activation would not have been possible without the Emirates Airport Services management and team, who helped organize and deliver the experience.”
For his part, Víctor Alfredo Sánchez, Customer Experience and Service Director at El Dorado International Airport, outlined the terminal’s institutional framework:
“‘El Dorado Más Accesible’ is a suite of programs designed to enhance airport accessibility for passengers with non-visible disabilities. These include the Sunflower Program and ‘El Dorado at Your Own Pace,’ an initiative that enables travelers who may experience travel-related anxiety to familiarize themselves with the terminal route and airport procedures prior to their day of departure, making the journey far more accessible.”
Staff Training and Global Program Footprint
The program’s operational foundation rests on the specialized training of frontline personnel. Emirates has over 35,000 cabin crew members and ground handling staff comprehensively trained through dedicated autism-awareness curricula. This instruction equips staff with in-depth insight into the spectrum, addresses common misconceptions, tackles operational friction points along the passenger path, and delivers tailored passenger-support strategies.
Since April 2025, Emirates Airport Services teams have coordinated more than 40 travel rehearsals benefiting over 250 families across an extensive global network of stations, including:
- Europe: Athens, Barcelona, Bologna, Brussels, Dublin, Dusseldorf, Edinburgh, Istanbul, Stockholm, Glasgow, London, Madrid, Milan, Newcastle, Nice, Oslo, Paris, Rome, Stansted, Venice, and Vienna.
- Middle East and Asia: Bali, Bengaluru, Cebu, Da Nang, Delhi, Dubai, Guangzhou, Hanoi, Hong Kong, Pampanga, Peshawar, and Thiruvananthapuram (Trivandrum).
- Africa and Indian Ocean Islands: Accra, Antananarivo, Cairo, Durban, Harare, Luanda, Lusaka, Mauritius, Port Louis, and Male.
- Americas and Australasia: Christchurch, Orlando, Sydney, and Toronto.
With the addition of Bogota to this global roster, El Dorado International Airport and Emirates reinforce technical and logistical preparedness aimed at removing accessibility barriers in commercial air transport for passengers with hidden disabilities.
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