(NEWS) CLARK, Pampanga, Philippines, 2026-Jul-29 — /Travel PR News/ — Emirates has expanded its Travel Rehearsal programme to Clark International Airport in the Philippines, giving neurodiverse children and their families a practical way to experience the airport journey before taking a real flight.
The initiative is designed to make air travel more familiar for children who may find airports challenging because of unfamiliar sounds, bright lighting, crowds, queues, announcements, security procedures and changes in routine.
The Clark session marks Emirates’ second Travel Rehearsal in the Philippines, following the airline’s first local programme in Cebu in June. According to details released by Emirates, the Clark rehearsal brought together 22 students, their parents and guardians, and eight teachers from Hand Prints School of Progressive Education and Beyond Play Learning Center.
During the three-hour session, families were guided through the main stages of the airport experience, including check-in, immigration, security screening, the departure concourse and a simulated boarding process at the gate. Emirates personnel and airport partners explained each step, answered questions and introduced participants to the teams they would typically meet during a journey.
The programme builds on an initiative Emirates first piloted in Dubai in 2023. Travel Rehearsal was created to help children with autism, together with their families and caregivers, practise the full airport process in a guided, lower-pressure setting. By walking through the journey before the day of travel, children can become more familiar with what to expect, while parents and caregivers can better understand where support may be needed.
That advance preparation can make a meaningful difference. For many neurodiverse children, the airport is not simply a place to pass through; it can be a concentrated sensory environment with multiple instructions, waiting periods and transitions. A rehearsal helps reduce uncertainty by turning the unknown into a sequence of recognisable steps.
The Clark rehearsal was made possible through the collaboration of Clark International Airport, customer service teams, border control, the Office for Transportation Security and Emirates’ ground handling partner. Together, they recreated the end-to-end airport experience so families could practise the journey in a structured and supportive way.
The initiative also forms part of Emirates’ wider accessible travel strategy. In 2025, Emirates became the world’s first Autism-Certified Airline after completing specialised autism and sensory awareness training for more than 30,000 cabin crew and ground staff. The training, developed in collaboration with the International Board of Credentialing and Continuing Education Standards, focuses on autism, sensory sensitivities, travel-related triggers and practical support techniques for customers with accessible travel requirements.
Since April 2025, Emirates Airport Services teams have organised more than 40 Travel Rehearsals across airports in Europe, Africa, Asia, Australasia and the Americas, as well as at the airline’s Dubai hub. Rehearsals have taken place in cities including Accra, Athens, Bali, Barcelona, Brussels, Cebu, Christchurch, Da Nang, Delhi, Dubai, Hong Kong, Istanbul, London, Madrid, Paris, Sydney, Toronto and Vienna, with more destinations joining the programme across the airline’s global network.
Khalid Al Zarooni, Emirates’ Country Manager for the Philippines, said making travel more inclusive begins before a passenger boards the aircraft. He noted that every traveller experiences the airport differently and that the programme is intended to help more families feel able to enjoy travel together.
The airline’s work also reflects a broader push to make aviation and tourism more accessible for travellers with sensory sensitivities. Emirates has linked its programme with real-world training, airport partnerships and community organisations, creating a model that moves beyond general accessibility commitments and into practical preparation.
For participating families, the benefit is immediate. Children can see the airport, hear the sounds, meet staff, walk through procedures and understand what boarding may feel like before the pressure of an actual departure day.
For Emirates, the Clark programme strengthens its accessible travel activity in the Philippines and adds another city to its growing global Travel Rehearsal network. For families of neurodiverse children, it offers something simple but important: the chance to approach flying with more confidence, more familiarity and fewer unknowns.
