A wheelchair that takes a passenger to their boarding gate without someone pushing it. Smart glasses that can read a boarding pass and describe cabin surroundings. A private lounge suite designed to make transferring from a wheelchair more comfortable.
These are among the ideas demonstrated by dnata and Emirates at AccessAbilities Expo 2026, offering a glimpse of how airport and onboard experiences could become more accessible. Dnata is trialling the autonomous wheelchair, while Emirates is exploring smart-glasses assistance, audio-led cabin familiarisation and an accessible lounge suite, with feedback from potential users helping shape the concepts.
The eighth edition of the expo runs at Dubai World Trade Centre from October 19 to 21. Emirates is using the event to showcase concepts under development and gather feedback from people with different accessibility requirements.
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Suhail Amshan, senior manager at Emirates’ Office of Accessibility and Inclusion, said the airline was bringing ideas into the open earlier than it would normally do, so people of determination could help determine whether they were useful.
“We’re bringing concepts out very early on to get their inputs,” he said.
Suhail Amshan
Helping passengers understand the cabin
For sighted travellers, stepping onboard means immediately taking in the lighting, seats and cabin design. Passengers who are blind or have low vision may receive practical instructions from cabin crew, but not necessarily the same sense of the space around them, Amshan said.
The airline’s cabin-familiarisation concept aims to address that gap through audio descriptions. At the expo, visitors can sit in an Emirates A350 seat fitted with a U-Dream headrest, explore it through touch and listen to descriptions of the cabin.
“One thing that we recognise is that they don’t get a sense of where they’re sitting,” Amshan said. “The concept is around giving them an audio description of what the cabin design looks like.”
In a separate demonstration, Fatih Bayezid, a senior robotics engineer on the innovation team, explained how an application connected to Meta glasses could answer questions about the location of cabin features, describe what is in front of a user and read a boarding pass.
Fatih Bayezid on the left.
The application is an initial prototype, he said, with feedback being collected from prospective users. It is not being presented as a service already available on flights.
More independence at the airport
Dnata demonstrated an autonomous wheelchair at the expo, showing how passengers could navigate an airport without someone physically pushing their chair.
A dnata representative explained that a passenger selects a destination, such as a boarding gate, on a tablet. Four cameras and a lidar sensor which uses laser light to detect objects help the chair monitor its surroundings. It can stop when an obstacle appears and change its route if the obstruction remains.
A back-office team can monitor the journey and remotely take control if needed. Manual joystick operation is reserved for trained personnel, the representative said.
Dnata has trialled the wheelchair at a Dubai airport, with passenger feedback passed to the manufacturer for further development. It remains under testing.
Separately, Emirates is showcasing accessible biometric boarding technology. Its published update says cameras can adjust to different heights and angles, allowing wheelchair users to move through without having to adopt a prescribed position.
A private space before flying
For passengers with reduced mobility, Emirates’ accessible lounge suite prototype offers more room to transfer from a wheelchair and relax in privacy before a flight.
The design includes grab bars, wheelchair storage and a powered recliner with lift, swivel and recline functions. It is being developed for First Class lounges, with the possibility of extending the concept to other classes later.
Amshan said the chair’s powered movement could help older travellers and people with conditions such as arthritis rise from a seated position without placing as much pressure on their knees. Feedback on the space and specifications will inform the final design.
Fabio Marcelli and his team
Fabio Marcelli, Emirates’ Dubai lounges manager, said accessibility improvements were also being incorporated into a planned Business Class lounge in Concourse C, including accessible ablution and shower facilities. He described plans for biometric lounge entry, a dedicated entrance for customers using assisted services and a children’s-room concept incorporating sensory elements.
Practising the journey before departure
For some families, the first barrier is deciding whether to travel at all.
Amshan said conversations with parents had shown that an unfamiliar airport journey could feel so overwhelming that they avoided taking that first step. Travel rehearsals let families practise procedures without the pressure of an imminent departure.
“This is about practice. This is about making sure you feel comfortable,” he said.
Families can familiarise themselves with check-in, security and boarding. Where arrangements allow, children can enter an aircraft, meet crew and practise fastening their seat belts.
Emirates’ October 19 update says it has completed 80 travel rehearsals across six continents, reaching more than 400 families. More than 35,000 staff have been trained to support customers with autism.
Amshan said the sessions also help employees learn directly from passengers, while educators can take those lessons back into classrooms.
The aim, he said, is to provide information and support rather than make decisions on passengers’ behalf whether that means choosing a seat with fewer sensory distractions or identifying changes that would make the journey more comfortable.