Well this is a very weird one to write. Usually it’s a very simple blog post, and one that is written very quickly. I did receive a full roster for April, and despite it being a bottom bid month, I was rather content with what I received and would have been able to swap a couple things round. So in April I was meant to be going to…

KWI – Kuwait Turn Around
JNB – Johannesburg, South Africa Layover
LHR – London Heathrow, UK Layover
MAN – Manchester, UK Layover
HYD – Hyderabad, India Turn Around
AKL – Auckland, New Zealand Layover

However, not long after receiving rosters the issues surrounding the COVID-19 pandemic seemed to spiral out of control. Flight cancellations and reductions were becoming a daily thing, countries began to impose restrictions that for the first time were also implemented to cabin crew and people began to see flights being removed from their rosters.

I however was one of the ones that it took well over a week before I even saw anything removed from my roster, but the issue that I was facing was that I had left the UAE on my annual leave, and the border to Dubai was now closed to both tourists and residents. I was unable to return home until April 2nd (which is when the current 2 week ban was due to be up) which meant I would not be able to get back to work.

This has been an incredibly stressful and upsetting time for me. Dubai is my home and has been for the last four and a half years and is where all my things are, my job is and my base. Unable to get back and having just a case of summer clothes with me, I’ve had to return to the UK and reside with my parents until the border to the UAE opens back up and I am able to fly again. The issue then was with work and trying to speak with the embassy.

But then we found out the airline would stop flying until further notice and for the first time in forever Dubai International Airport, the world’s busiest airport by international passenger traffic, would be closed for two weeks. So even if I could get back to Dubai, I wouldn’t be able to get back to work.

It is unsure when we will get back to work, but the company is still working hard at transporting essential cargo across the world on our freighter planes. So thankfully my job is safe, we just all need to stay at home so that we can fight this global pandemic and get back to travelling the world again.

So for now I am with my family back in the UK. Social distancing, recharging those batteries, allowing my face to have a break from all the make up I usually wear and just waiting for the news that I can return back to my home in the UAE.

I have a long back log of posts that I am going to work on, so I’m not out there travelling the world, I’m just catching up on everything that I seem to have run out of time for. And as for a May 2020 roster, well I guess we shall see what happens there.

Stay safe, stay home and keep washing your hands.
Jess x

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