Emirates Punishes Crew Over Controversial “Behind The Scenes” Video

I really don’t envy the position that airlines are in when it comes to their social media policies, and how some flight attendants are incapable of using good judgment. A former Emirates flight attendant has now caused some of her colleagues to be reprimanded, as reported by PYOK. I think the airline is 100% in the right, and had no choice but to take action.

Emirates flight attendant breaks all kinds of rules in vlog

Working for the Gulf carriers can seem pretty glamorous, and many people seem motivated to get the job in order to become an influencer, since they want to show off the glamorous lifestyle.

More from OMAAT My Emirates Pass: Save Money In Dubai With Your Boarding Pass Read more

An Australian named Amanda King has a sizable social media following, and briefly worked as an Emirates flight attendant. About eight months ago, she published a “behind the scenes” video of what it’s like to be an Emirates cabin crew, including the things that you don’t see as a passenger. The video got a lot of traffic, and as of now, has been viewed over 1.2 million times.

Here’s the thing — Emirates actually has one of the more liberal social media policies, as flight attendants are allowed to post content in uniform, within certain (reasonable) guidelines. Those guidelines can be summed up as “use common sense,” like not letting this interfere with your job, and not showing off anything you shouldn’t be allowed to do.

King’s vlog was about a trip she worked to Shanghai, where she took her boyfriend along. I’ve gotta say, she actually seems like a pleasant person, and for the most part, I think passengers would find this video to be quite interesting and positive. However, the video depicted some things that are just explicitly not allowed. In some cases they violate company policies, while in other cases they violate international aviation policies:

• King shares how another crew member let her swap jump seats so she could sit near her boyfriend; this is a big no-no at the airline, as flight attendants must sit in their assigned jump seats, because they each have specific safety duties to look after
• Before landing, King gives her boyfriend a tour of the crew bunks; again, this is strictly prohibited, and not just a violation of airline policies, but of international aviation regulations (there’s even signage on the bunks indicating that this isn’t allowed)
• Then there are some things that are questionable, but perhaps not explicitly prohibited, like her showing off safety equipment, showing how to unlock the lavatory, and even baking a cake in the galley for the crew, as a thank you for putting up with her bringing her boyfriend along

You can see the video for yourself below.

Well, it seems that the higher-ups at Emirates were made aware of this, with another flight attendant suggesting that “because of one YouTube video whole crew was fired.”

Now, it’s my understanding that this statement isn’t at all correct. No crew members get fired, though some crew members were reprimanded, and received a warning. These would be the crew members who basically helped her break these rules, like swapping jump seats with her, etc.

Emirates is handling this situation correctly

What King is doing here is so common nowadays — someone gets a job for a year or two as a flight attendant at a glamorous airline, and they record a lot of content. Then after they leave the company, they publish some of the more questionable content, and also do coaching for how to become a flight attendant at these airlines.

Unfortunately in this case, her actions were just downright selfish. She had nothing to lose by publishing this video, I suppose, since she was no longer at the airline. But that’s not the case for her colleagues.

There’s simply zero justification for publishing a video where you show yourself violating not just airline policies, but aviation regulations as well. The airline is completely in the right for holding anyone who was involved with this accountable. Let me emphasize that unlike what’s being reported elsewhere, no one was fired, though warnings were issued.

It really is a shame how people aren’t capable of using good judgment. Emirates is extremely open to flight attendants using social media, but despite that, it’s my understanding that people are frequently terminated over their behavior there. And that’s how it should be, as there should be no tolerance for flight attendants violating regulations. Once you start making compromises on safety, it’s a slippery slope.

One would hope that people would learn their lesson and act differently going forward. But of course there’s a never-ending stream of people who are new to the industry, and who social media clout over following policies.

Bottom line

A former Emirates flight attendant has caused her colleagues to get in trouble, after she published a “behind the scenes” video of a trip she had while working at the airline. While there’s nothing wrong with that as such, what is problematic is what she showed off, including bringing her boyfriend into the crew bunk during the flight, which violates aviation regulations.

Emirates deserves credit for its open social media policy. The issue is that this requires using good judgment, and that’s something that’s lacked by all too many people.

What do you make of this Emirates “behind the scenes” video situation?