Dubai International (DXB), the world’s busiest international airport, has received the Autism-Friendly Certificate (AFC) after successfully meeting the requirements of Dubai Autism Center’s (DAC) Autism-friendly Program with regard to providing services and facilities to support accessibility for people with autism.
Mohammed Al Emadi, Director General and Board Member of the Dubai Autism Center presented the certificate to a Dubai Airports’ delegation during their visit to the Dubai Autism Center recently . The delegation was briefed on the Centre’s operations and given a tour of its facilities, before being introduced to the students, their families, and the staff.
HE Jamal Al Hai, Deputy CEO of Dubai Airports, commented: “As one of the world’s most prominent air travel hubs and the busiest airport for international passengers, DXB has crossed many historic milestones in its more than 6-decades long history. For us at Dubai Airports, the Autism Friendly certification is one such milestone that holds special significance both as an achievement as well as a reflection of our commitment to providing the best customer care and a memorably smooth journey to people of determination.”
For his part, Mohammed Al-Emadi, Director General of the Dubai Autism Center, expressed his appreciation for the efforts of Dubai Airports, the operator of DXB, and their tireless endeavor to enhance the benefit of people of determination, including individuals with autism, from the services they seek in the airport’s facilities to obtain an enriching experience and meet their needs as fully as others, in line with the vision of our wise government to transform the Emirate of Dubai into a friendly city for people of determination.
Also, Al Emadi called upon the government and private establishments to follow the example of distinguished entities in providing appropriate environments for people with autism to enable them and integrate them into society, emphasizing that the program seeks to achieve the goals of the National Autism Policy, and the initiative of “My Community, A Place for Everyone”.
About the procedures of the program organizing committee, Eman Abushabab, Community Outreach Manager at the Dubai Autism Center, revealed that cooperation with Dubai Airports has been established to design and deliver an Autism training program that provides their employees with the necessary information on how to interact and engage with travelers with autism, in addition to organizing a number of training workshops and field visits.
She added: “Over a period of seven months, the Organizing Committee of the Program worked with Dubai Airports to build a sustainable system that includes the procedures, concepts, and standards required to welcome travelers with autism and serve them in an integrated manner,”
Abushabab indicated that the experience of traveling and touring the airport and boarding the plane requires a lot of procedures, which may be stressful and frightening for some people with autism, stressing that the application of Dubai Airports to the standards of the “Autism-Friendly Program” contributes effectively to make the travel experience safe and comfortable for them.
Abushabab stated that entities that receive the AFC are subject to evaluation once a year, in addition to adopting a ‘mystery shopper’ approach, usually represented by people with autism and their families.
It is noteworthy that the DAC launched the Autism-Friendly program in September this year as a first-of-its-kind initiative in the region aimed at certifying the role model of organizations in the public and private sectors and encouraging the community to embrace higher accessibility standards for individuals with autism.
