Dubai Expo Puts Accessibility Tech to the Test

An autonomous wheelchair at Dubai International Airport can take passengers from check-in to their departure gate. Airport operators are weighing whether to extend the trial. The machine has four light detection and ranging cameras and can collect passengers from a lounge, then take them to the plane during boarding. Dnata is testing it at concourse D in Terminal 1. Passengers travelling alone can stop anywhere in the airport using a manual override.

The wheelchair appeared among the solutions presented when the Dubai AccessAbilities Expo began on Monday, October 19, 2026. The technology may make travel easier, but the trial also leaves access in the hands of a large institution: airlines, airport operators and their equipment determine how assistance reaches passengers. The test remains at one concourse, and operators haven’t decided whether to extend it to Terminal 3.

Access, Delivered by Institutions

Suhail Amshan, senior manager in the office of accessibility and inclusion at Emirates, said more people had grown comfortable discussing accommodation requirements. “Coming into the airports can feel a little overwhelming,” he said. In the past, he added, some people may not have felt comfortable approaching Emirates staff to request accommodations.

Emirates became the world's first autism-certified airline, according to the International Board of Credentialing and Continuing Education Standards. The airline trained more than 30,000 front line staff and cabin crew to understand autism and special requirements for air travel as part of the certification. It offers digital sensory guides, sensory products such as fidget toys, and tailored assistance. Its travel rehearsal programmes help families get familiar with airport procedures before travelling. Since launching in 2023, the programmes have reached about 80 airports.

The airline has introduced business-class lounges, biometric passport scanners and check-in desks designed for wheelchair access. Amshan acknowledged that staff may face situations they haven’t trained for. “Everyone has a different requirement and deals with travel in different ways,” he said. Staff have tools and resources to customise solutions, he added, but “there are lots of things that we are still not familiar with or are aware of.”

A Market Beside the Need

At the Dubai World Trade Centre exhibition, visitors could try solutions for people with impaired mobility, sight and hearing, as well as people with intellectual disabilities. Displays included AI-powered smart glasses that offer real-time translation and assistance for people with visual disabilities, and electronic prosthetic limbs designed to replicate natural movement and give users greater independence. Therapeutic riding was presented as a way to help people build confidence and skills.

The market forecasts sit beside a stark access figure. The global assistive technology market for people with disabilities was projected to reach $98.7 billion by 2033, while the mobility aids market alone was expected to reach $1.1 billion by 2031. Global studies indicate that 3.5 billion people will need assistive technology by 2030. Only 10 per cent currently have access to the products they need.

Onward Accessibility, a US digital accessibility services company, estimates that more than 50 million people with disabilities live in the Middle East. The World Health Organisation estimates that people with disabilities account for about 10 to 16 per cent of any society’s population. It also estimates that around 1.3 billion people worldwide live with some form of disability, including more than 50 million in the Middle East. The projections describe a large market. The access figure shows who still can’t reach it.

Regulation and Everyday Access

Dubai Health Authority presented its Sanadhum initiative, a regulatory and awareness project designed to strengthen healthcare facilities’ compliance with requirements for people of determination, including the Dubai Universal Design Code and health policies. The initiative runs field inspection campaigns across all health services to check readiness, ease of access and priority.

“The first time that crew interact with a person with a disability, the scenario might not have been something they've been trained for,” Amshan said. That admission points to work still required alongside the machinery and certification: staff and services must respond to varied needs, not just display new equipment.

Asma Al Sharif, chief executive of DHA's Health Regulatory Sector, said comprehensive health care goes beyond infrastructure and services. It also means building a system that considers people’s needs and ensures access “efficiently, with dignity and independence.” Ghassan Suleiman, chief executive of AccessAbilities Expo, said technologies including artificial intelligence, virtual reality, augmented reality and the Internet of Things had accelerated innovation in the sector. The expo displayed those tools; the figures on unmet need show the gap between exhibiting access and people actually having it.