Emirates donates more than 12,000 eye shades for blind and low vision community

As part of ongoing efforts to repurpose waste and connect with communities, Emirates has recently distributed over 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 teaching staff training.

Tracy Pearce, an outreach teacher with Sight Scotland based at the Royal Blind School in Edinburgh, and her colleagues work with visually impaired children in Scotland. They train teachers and support staff on how best to support young people who are blind or visually impaired. They often use eye shades during training activities to simulate some effects of a visual impairment. These trainings encourage thought-provoking experiences by participating in everyday activities without vision. 

Emirates has already distributed 12,250 Class eyeshades to schools and centres, such as Guide Dogs for the Blind Associations, Learning and Inclusion Centres, Sensory Service providers, Schools for the Low Vision Community, and Habilitation services.

Emirates is working with the Be My Eyes app for the blind and low-vision community, making it the first airline worldwide to launch the service. The Be My Eyes app provides accessible video support for customers. Customers can download the Be My Eyes app for free on their smartphones and then place a call through the Emirates Call Centre for support via a live video call. The Emirates agent can then direct the customer on where to walk or what to do next. Community.

Emirates provides a range of innovative assistance services for customers who are blind or visually impaired. These services include website accessibility, booking, being at the airport, being onboard, and enjoying the in-flight programme.