The Dubai Diaries
My life as a flight attendant in the Middle East!

August Roster

Once again the roster is out and it’s time for another busy month.

It’s a jam-packed one this time and I’ve already managed to do a couple of swaps, and hopefully one more if I can! 

August will be a real mix of destinations, with almost every continent covered! I’ll be heading off to:

  • BSR – Basra, Iraq (turnaround)
  • AMM – Amman, Jordan (turnaround)
  • MLE – Male, Maldives (turnaround)
  • EWR – Newark, USA
  • BLQ – Bologna, Italy
  • ABV – Abuja, Nigeria
  • BCN – Barcelona, Spain
  • GLA – Glasgow, UK

Starting off with three back-to-back turnarounds (i.e. no days off and minimum rest in-between) to Basra, Amman and Male. I’m seriously hoping I can somehow make a miracle happen and swap these for a layover, but let’s see!

My first layover of the month is to Newark – while I’ve visited New York plenty of times, it’ll be my first time flying into Newark. Sadly it’s just a 24 hour layover but I’m sure I’ll manage to stay busy! I originally had San Fransisco rostered but decided to swap as this will give me an extra day off.

Up next is the trip I’m most looking forward to – Bologna, Italy. I’ve been here a couple of times and can’t wait to go back and eat my bodyweight in tagliatelle bolognese and gelato 😀

Following on from that is a 48 hour layover in Abuja. A new destination for me and I’ll be honest and say it’s not one that I would have bid for, but I’ll try to make the most of the layover and get out and explore some of the city. Any tips are more than welcome!

Then I have a layover in Barcelona, Spain, which I can’t wait for! I was actually rostered Moscow, but someone sent me a swap which I immediately accepted. Funnily enough I had actually bid for Barcelona but didn’t get the flight, so it’s great that I managed to swap.

My last trip of the month is to Glasgow, which again is another swap – originally I had a flight to Entebbe, Uganda. I’m not sure yet what I’ll do there, so stay tuned!

P.s. Follow me on Instagram, Facebook & Twitter for more day-to-day updates of where I am in the world! 🙂

Cocktails & Catchups in Barcelona


Not too long ago I was rostered a lovely trip to Barcelona, and with my sister living in Valencia, it made perfect sense for her to come and stay on my layover there!

She took the train from Valencia to meet me, and was waiting in our hotel after we landed.

After a coffee in the room (who else loves it when hotels have a Nespresso machine in the room?!) and a catch up, we were ready to head out for some exploring.

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March Roster


Once again roster day has come round quickly, and with March being my top bid month, I was keeping my fingers crossed for some good flights.

Considering I have leave in the middle of the month, I actually got 3 of the flights which I asked for, which I am really happy about! I even have a new destination at the end of the month, which is always great 🙂

In March I’ll be starting off the month landing from a flight to Zurich, and then heading off to:

  • BCN – Barcelona, Spain
  • NRT – Narita, Japan
  • NRT – Narita, Japan
  • Leave
  • DEL – Dehli, India (turnaround)
  • DEL – Dehli, India (turnaround)
  • MCO – Orlando, USA

I bid for all of those destinations except Dehli, so I’m very pleased with most of my roster!

Barcelona is one of my favourite European cities, and even more excitingly I’ll only be working half of the trip, as we get to fly back to Dubai as passengers, also known as deadheading! This is usually due to an aircraft change or extra flight.

Then two trips to Narita – I’m keeping all of my fingers crossed it’s not too early for cherry blossom season. I’ve been to Tokyo with my family in the past, and have done a flight to Osaka with Emirates, but this will be my first time operating the flight to Narita. Any tips are more than welcome! 🙂

After that I have 5 days leave, and will probably head home, as it’s been a while since I’ve been to stay with my parents. My brother and his girlfriend will also be there at the same time (they live in Munich) with their puppy!

I get back from my leave to two not ideal trips to Dehli – departing at night and getting back after sunrise. Who knows – maybe somebody will swap with me for a layover, but I’m not very optimistic!

To round off the month, I have a 50 hour layover in Orlando! It’ll be my first time there, and I’m hoping to go to Disneyland 🙂

An exciting month ahead, with a couple of new destinations for me.

P.s. Follow me on Instagram, Facebook & Twitter for more day-to-day updates of where I am in the world! 🙂

Snapshots from Barcelona


Barcelona…one of my favourite cities in the world! I lived nearby in a small seaside town for 3 months one summer doing an internship as a hotel receptionist, and most weekends or days off we would jump on the train and head into the city.

So every time I see Barcelona on my roster, I’m always happy!

We arrived fairly late in the evening and a few of the crew were heading down for tapas. Normally I would have joined them as I love tapas, but it was already late and considering I wasn’t actually even hungry, I decided to give it a miss this time.

The next morning I was up fairly early and popped down to the breakfast buffet, where I bumped into a few of the other crew. We decided to head into the city for a stroll around, as the weather was gorgeous.

Our first stop was the Boqueria Market, a huge covered market selling all sorts of tasty treats.

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June Roster


It seems like I only just pressed publish on my May roster, but here we are again with another roster post!

I’m currently on reserve, as mentioned in my May roster post, and so far I’ve been given a flight to Milan and a flight to London, as well as a quick overnight turnaround to Jeddah and back. I’ve still got quite a way to go so stay tuned on here and my Instagram, where I post more day-to-day updates, to see where else I end up this month!

I’ll be finishing my reserve around the 11th of June, and after that I’ll be heading to:

  • NBO – Nairobi, Kenya (turnaround)
  • LNE – HRE – Lusaka, Zambia & Harare, Zimbabwe
  • LHR – London Heathrow, UK
  • BCN – Barcelona, Spain


After my turnaround to Nairobi I have a string of 5 days off, so hope to head on a mini getaway somewhere warm with my girlfriends!

The LNE – HRE trip is one I haven’t done before. We fly to Lusaka, have a quick stop on ground, then on to Harare where we have a 24 hour layover. So if you have any tips or suggestions for what to do and see in 24 hours in Harare, please let me know.

Then it’s on to London, and after that one of my favourites, Barcelona, where I hope to top up my tan on the beach! In the meantime, let’s hope for some nice flights on my reserve 🙂

P.s. Follow me on Instagram, Facebook & Twitter for more day-to-day updates of where I am in the world! 🙂