First Class Career in the Dubai Airline Sector

A recent report in the UK’s Daily Telegraph Newspaper predicts that Dubai will overtake Heathrow as the world’s largest international airport by 2016. In fact, by 2020, Dubai is expecting to be handling 90,000,000 passengers a year through its terminals, which it is currently planning to expand. Dubai also has plans for a new airport which will be completed in around 2025.

This growth in capacity and infrastructure at Dubai airport is already beginning to feed through the chain into additional airline jobs. For example, a recent report in Emirates 24/7 conveys the exciting news that Dubai-based airline group Emirates will be hiring around 5000 personnel to fill positions across their business in all continents, starting from April 2012. Their hiring will include an additional 450 pilots and 4,000 cabin crew, plus many more operational staff.

The airline industry in Dubai is expected to show both explosive and sustained growth over the next decade and Dubai airport is expected to become the world leader in commercial passenger transportation. This makes the airline industry a prime sector for forward thinking progressive employees to start and build a career as airline cabin crew.

I have therefore provided some tips and advice on how to start and develop your career in the airline industry as a flight attendant.

The password is languages and plenty of them…

Airlines that have international flights tend to require that each flight has a multilingual crew member who can communicate with passengers who speak a different language. The languages that are generally in most demand are, (in addition to English) French, Spanish, Chinese, Cantonese, Japanese, Arabic, German, Portuguese, Italian and Greek.

Most airlines will therefore favor applicants who can speak more than one of the most popular global languages above. Therefore, if you are serious about a career in the airline industry especially, as Cabin Crew, it is recommended that you become fluent in two or more languages.

Applicant Requirements for Flight Attendant Roles

Most of the leading airlines in Dubai insist that job applicants for cabin crew are over 21 years old in order that they are legally old enough to serve alcohol in all jurisdictions. They also expect applicants to have a minimum arm reach of 212 cm (while stood on tiptoes) so you can reach emergency equipment on all types of aircraft. You’ll need to be educated to at least high school standard and will need to pass a medical.

Positive attitude, problem solving skills, team working skills, excellent customer service skills and cultural awareness is a must.

Assessment Process

You will usually need to attend a Screening and Assessment process. In Dubai, this will include an English test, a Psychometric Assessment and a Competency Based interview.

You can also expect a considerable amount of scenario based questioning where you will be shown videos of cabin crew involved in various situations and incidents on a plane. This is a problem solving question which will require you to explain how you would handle various scenarios.

About the author

Kazim Ladimeji is the Director of thecareercafe.co.uk—a resource for start-ups, small business and job seekers. It includes a blog with career and small business advice articles. Kazim is a Chartered Member of the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development, and has been a practising HR professional for 14 years.

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