Flying can feel overwhelming when you do not know exactly what to expect. For autistic travellers, children with additional needs, or anyone with anxiety around airports, the unknown can often be the hardest part.
Malta International Airport offers a helpful service called the Practice Run scheme, designed to make travelling feel more familiar before the real journey.
This gives passengers the chance to experience the airport process in advance, helping reduce anxiety and build confidence before travel day.
If airport stress is the reason you have been putting off a trip, this can make a huge difference.
Quick Wins for Using The Malta Airport Practise Run
- Book your practice run before your actual travel date
- Email assist@maltairport.com to arrange your visit
- Use the visit to walk through each airport step calmly
- Ask questions about check-in, security and boarding
- Take photos or videos if visual reminders help
- Bring sensory supports like headphones or fidget tools
- Create a simple visual schedule after your visit
What is The Malta Airport Practice Run Scheme?
The Malta Airport Practice Run scheme allows passengers to visit the airport before they fly and practise the airport journey with support from a member of the airport team.
Instead of arriving on your real travel day without knowing what will happen, you can walk through the process in advance and become familiar with the environment.
This can include:
- entering the terminal
- finding check-in desks
- understanding bag drop
- seeing security screening areas
- walking towards departures
- understanding where boarding usually happens
- learning what airport staff may ask you
- seeing the general layout and noise levels
This helps remove uncertainty and gives both children and adults a chance to prepare mentally for the experience.
Who is The Practice Run Helpful For?
This service can be especially useful for:
- autistic children and adults
- travellers with sensory sensitivities
- people with ADHD or anxiety
- children who struggle with transitions
- first-time flyers
- travellers with learning disabilities
- people with hidden disabilities
- families returning to travel after a long break
- anyone nervous about airports
It is not only for children – many adults find airport environments stressful too.
Why Airport Familiarisation Helps
For many autistic travellers, anxiety is often caused by unpredictability rather than the flight itself.
Questions like:
- Where do we go first?
- How long do we wait?
- What happens at security?
- Will people touch my belongings?
- What if I get overwhelmed?
…can create significant stress before the trip even starts.
A practice run helps answer these questions before travel day, making the actual airport visit feel far less intense.
Predictability creates confidence.
How to Book a Practice Run at Malta Airport
Booking is simple.
You can arrange a practice run by contacting the airport team directly at:
When emailing, it helps to include:
- your planned travel date
- the passenger’s age if relevant
- whether the traveller is autistic or has other additional needs
- any sensory concerns or mobility needs
- whether you also require airport special assistance
- any specific worries you would like help with
This helps the team prepare the most useful visit for your family.
You can find more information and a contact form on the dedicated website page for travelling with autism by Malta Airport.
Can You Also Book Special Assistance?
Yes – and for many families, using both services together works best. Malta Airport has a range of support available for autistic travellers. Using all of the support available can make a huge difference to your trip.
The practice run helps you prepare in advance, while airport special assistance supports you on the actual travel day.
Special assistance may include:
- help through check-in
- support at security
- assistance getting to the gate
- priority boarding where appropriate
- mobility support
- help for hidden disabilities
- reduced waiting stress
If you need help on the day of travel, make sure this is arranged through your airline as well as discussing airport support. My guide to getting all of the help you need at the airport breaks down what special assistance is, who it is for, how to book it and what to expect when you use this service.
Hidden Disability Support at Malta Airport
Malta Airport also supports hidden disabilities, which can be especially helpful for autistic passengers.
Many travellers use the Sunflower Lanyard to discreetly show that they may need extra patience, understanding, or support. My guide will teach you what the Hidden Disabilities Sunflower Lanyard is and how to get one of your own.
This can help staff recognise that additional assistance may be needed without having to repeatedly explain.
Tips to Make Your Practice Run Even More Useful
- Try to visit at a similar time of day to your actual flight if possible
- Wear the same type of headphones, comfort items or sensory supports you plan to use
- Take photos of important areas like security and boarding gates
- Create a social story afterwards for younger children
- Talk through what will happen step by step at home
- Practise waiting, queues and passport checks if relevant
- Pack your airport bag the same way you would for the real trip
The goal is to make travel day feel like a repeat, not a surprise.
Malta Airport Familiarisation Visit FAQ
What facilities are there at Malta Airport?
Malta International Airport offers a range of support services for disabled passengers and travellers with hidden disabilities. This includes special assistance for mobility needs, support through check-in and security, accessible toilets, lifts, designated parking, wheelchair assistance, and help getting to the departure gate. For autistic travellers and passengers with sensory sensitivities, the airport also offers services like the Practice Run Scheme and Journey Facilitation to make the airport experience more predictable and less stressful.
What is Journey Facilitation at Malta Airport?
Journey Facilitation at Malta International Airport is designed to support autistic passengers and travellers with hidden disabilities by helping make the airport journey smoother and more manageable. It focuses on reducing stress, improving understanding of airport processes, and helping passengers feel more confident when travelling. This may include familiarisation visits, clearer guidance from staff, and support with navigating different parts of the terminal.
How can I book a familiarisation visit at Malta Airport?
You can book a familiarisation visit, also called a Practice Run, by emailing the airport assistance team at assist@maltairport.com. This allows you to visit the airport before your actual flight and walk through the journey step by step with support from a staff member. It helps to include your travel date, passenger details, and any specific support needs when making your request.
What other services exist for autistic passengers at Malta Airport?
In addition to the Practice Run Scheme, autistic passengers may benefit from airport special assistance, hidden disability support, and the use of the Sunflower Lanyard. Special assistance can help with check-in, security, waiting areas, and boarding, while hidden disability recognition helps staff understand that a passenger may need extra patience or support without needing repeated explanations.
What is an autism-friendly space in Malta?
An autism-friendly space is an environment designed to reduce sensory overload and make experiences more comfortable for autistic people. This can include quieter waiting areas, calmer lighting, clearer signage, predictable routines, and trained staff who understand sensory needs and communication differences. At airports, autism-friendly spaces help reduce travel anxiety and improve accessibility for families and individuals.
Does Malta Airport have any visual guides or social stories?
Malta Airport’s Practice Run Scheme acts as a practical form of visual preparation by allowing passengers to physically experience the airport before travel day. While some airports provide downloadable social stories or visual guides online, many families also create their own using photos taken during a practice run. This can be especially helpful for autistic children who benefit from visual schedules and knowing exactly what to expect before flying.
The hardest part of travel is often not the flight – it is the worry beforehand.
The Malta Airport Practice Run Scheme helps remove that fear by replacing uncertainty with familiarity.
For autistic travellers and families managing sensory needs, that can be the difference between cancelling a holiday and confidently taking one.
Sometimes, simply knowing what happens next changes everything.
If airport anxiety has been holding your family back, this is absolutely worth booking.
If you are ready to plan a trip to Malta, my guide to visiting Malta with autistic children is the best place to start and includes links to all of my guides about Malta including accessible transport, autism-friendly spaces in Malta and Gozo, visiting Valletta and much more.