Emirates donates more than 12,000 eye shades to teacher-training initiatives in the blind and low vision community
As part of ongoing efforts to repurpose waste and connect with communities, Emirates has recently distributed more than 12,000 First Class eye masks to schools for the blind, sensory services, and vision support centres across the UK. The donation was inspired by an idea from a creative teacher in Scotland, who connected Emirates to a network of more than 80 service providers across the UK, and explained how eye masks can be used in the training of teaching staff.
In September 2024, Tracy Pearce, an outreach teacher with Sight Scotland based at the Royal Blind School in Edinburgh had an idea to reach out to Emirates with a request for eye shades, knowing that these are used by passengers travelling overnight onboard Emirates’ flights to 140 destinations. Tracy and her colleagues work with visually impaired children in Scotland, training teachers and support staff on how best to support young people who are blind or visually impaired. Tracy wrote passionately about the school, and how they often use eye shades during training activities, to simulate some effects of a visual impairment. The aim of these trainings is to encourage thought-provoking experiences, by taking part in everyday activities without vision. Tracy stressed how impactful this exercise can be for teachers and wondered whether Emirates could support.
Emirates’ PR and CSR team were able to locate eye shades to fulfil Tracy’s request, and encouraged Tracy to connect with her network of teachers across the UK so multiple requests could be fulfilled. Within a few days, Emirates had requests from more than 80 dedicated teachers across the UK, who shared that they would love to use the eye shades in trainings. By November, 12,250 First Class eyeshades had been distributed to schools and centres like Guide Dogs for the Blind Associations, Learning and Inclusion Centres, Sensory Service providers, Schools for the Low Vision Community and Habilitation services.
“These eye shades provide invaluable insight into the realities of living with a visual impairment. They are a crucial tool in our training sessions, allowing participants to experience first-hand the challenges faced by those with sight loss. We’re grateful to Emirates for their generous donation, which will make a significant difference in our ability to teach with empathy and expertise.”
Tracy Pearce, Outreach Teacher at Sight Scotland
Emirates’ inclusive services for blind and low vision customers
As part of a mission to make travel more inclusive and accessible for all, Emirates is currently also working with the Be My Eyes app for the blind and low vision community, making it the first airline in the world to launch the service. The Be My Eyes app provides accessible video support for customers, creating empathetic experiences for customers with disabilities. Customers can download the Be My Eyes app for free on their smartphones and by selecting Emirates from the company profile list on the app, are then able to place a call routed through the Emirates Call Centre for support via a live video call. The Emirates agent can then direct the customer on which direction to walk or what to do next. The Be My Eyes app has grown in popularity and is supported through 8 million volunteers who become the eyes for the blind and low vision community.
On Emirates’ newest aircraft, the Airbus A350, there is a new user interface on the inflight entertainment system ice for visually impaired customers, that imparts best practice experiences including audio-cue navigation assistance, voice metadata feedback, touch and swipe gesturing support and has a large selection of audio-descriptive (AD) content available, including movies and TV series.
Assistance for Emirates customers who are blind or visually impaired
Website Accessibility
Emirates is committed to making its digital experiences accessible to the broadest possible audience and are working to constantly improve the overall usability of the Emirates.com website, using the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.0 Level AA Success Criteria.
Making a booking
If a customer requires guidance though the airport and assistance on board, Emirates can support if the customer contacts their Local Office a few days before travel.
At the airport
Emirates has introduced accessible self-service kiosks at Dubai International Airport (DXB), in addition to at John F. Kennedy International Airport (JFK), and Los Angeles International Airport (LAX). The solution is designed to support passengers with diverse needs, including those with visual, hearing, and physical impairments, ensuring a more inclusive and seamless travel experience across key international hubs.
As part of this enhancement, Emirates introduced improved typography, contrast, and colour schemes to enhance readability and usability. Additionally, a text-to-speech capability has been integrated to assist customers with visual limitations, enabling them to navigate the application with greater ease and independence at Self-Service Kiosks (SSK).
Emirates can also arrange a meet and assist service from check‑in to the gate, or from the aircraft to onward transport at all airports. There are boarding announcements at the airport and customers can ask team members for information at any time.
Onboard
Emirates can provide individual safety briefings for flights. Emirates cabin crew will explain the safety procedures, exit locations, and how they can best assist, read the menu options and explain the placement of items in front of the customer.
Inflight entertainment
Many movies and TV shows onboard Emirates inflight entertainment system ice, have audio description to explain what’s happening in the scene. Before a flight, customers can explore what movies and TV shows with audio description are available in advance by checking the ice section on Emirates.com.
Travelling with a guide dog
Onboard Emirates, guide dogs or service dogs can fly with a customer for free, and on certain routes they can travel in the cabin. Customers need to inform Emirates at least 48 hours before a flight so arrangements can be made.