It’s been a while since my last post, honestly I haven’t felt motivated to write in such a long time due to the current situation. Normally I would fill this blog with tales of my travels but since I haven’t been flying I wasn’t too sure what to even write about. I posted on my Instagram a few weeks back asking for blogpost suggestions however I decided to put those aside for the time being and just write my thoughts on what’s happening here at Emirates.
It’s no surprise that COVID has really taken a tremendous hit on the aviation industry – every airline has been affected since borders closed and the world went into isolation. The majority of us flight attendants have either been made redundant or are just patiently waiting for a flight after months of being grounded. A large portion of our salary is accumulated from our flying hours so you can imagine that money is not plentiful right now… especially when you live in Dubai!
My last flight was London Heathrow on 24th March and in a few days it will be officially 3 months since I’ve been grounded. Honestly in the beginning it was nice to be off work for a while as I was happy to give my body a break from flying. It’s the small things like having a regular sleeping pattern and eating my home cooked meals everyday that I was eager to return to. After doing this for the past 3 months I feel absolutely amazing in regards to my physical health. My body feels better than its ever felt since I embarked on my career change as cabin crew a few years ago.
However, on the downside I’ve had to work really hard to protect my mental health. I’ve always been a really productive human being, I love to work and earn a living. It’s personally been difficult for me not to work for such a long time. I keep myself super busy during the days of course, those that know me know that I’m always busy doing something! Even though I’m keeping myself busy, I am really just longing to return back to work. I’m not too sure what kind of rostering system they are using but some crew are receiving flights while a lot of us are not flying at all. Of course, some crew are happy not to fly during this crazy time but I am not one of them. I really love my job and I cannot wait to return to the sky! I don’t feel like I accomplished everything here that I set out to do and I was just settling into Dubai when this whole madness took place.
I’m a very optimistic person and I am positive that things will be better. I can already see the changes coming in the next few months as borders begin to reopen, flights pickup and restrictions are eased. I suppose I just need to take this time to practice patience, gratitude and keep taking care of my body while I’ve been given the opportunity to rest after years of exhaustion.
My heart breaks for all the crew that have lost their jobs due to corona. It’s one of those jobs that are a dream for many of us and to unexpectedly lose your dream job is truly heart breaking. No one knows what’s in store for us still fortunate to have our jobs… I guess only time will tell. 2020 is definitely a year I don’t think any of us will forget but I believe everything happens for a reason. Change is not always a bad thing and it’s never too late to reinvent yourself. Even if you can’t see the outcome right now, you never know what’s in store for you tomorrow. So stay strong all my beautiful colleagues, it will not rain forever…
THE RAINBOW IS COMING ! ! ! Xx 🌈🌈🌈
Danielle Murnane 
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