What Actually Happens at an Emirates Open Day — and What to Bring With You

The Emirates Open Days are recruitment events open for walk-ins. You don’t need an appointment or invitation to attend the open day; you simply show up at the time indicated (9AM). The only thing you need to be aware of is that these events are held at specific locations designated by the airline as “Open Day”. If the event is marked as “invite only”, you must apply online to be considered for an appointment. There are three phases to both types of open days: an introduction to the position, a group activity and online test conducted at the venue, followed by a final interview.

The following stages and documents have been copied from Emirates Group Careers’ Cabin Crew Page in September 2026. This content has been taken from candidates’ accounts and will help illustrate what it’s like to participate in an open day, without providing any binding rules or regulations. You should not consider this information to be legal or immigration advice – always refer to your own invitation e-mail and/or official page for complete details for your own needs. You will find the details that will determine how your morning will unfold right next to where your city is located.

Open Day or Invite-Only: The Two Ways Into Emirates Cabin Crew Recruitment

Currently, Emirates Airlines has two types of recruitment events on its website: Open Days and Invite-Only events. Open Days allow anyone who would like to attend to come in without being invited. Invite-Only events only allow those who have been selected from online applications. If you do not see your city listed as one in which Emirates will have a recruitment event, please apply online and Emirates will contact you about your city when we are close to your city.

Unfortunately, there is still some confusion surrounding recruitment events with Emirates Airlines. For example, in February 2026 on r/emiratescareers, a first-time attendee asked if a person going to Toronto could attend an Open Day and received both the response that you must provide proof of an invitation when arriving and that you could just walk into any of the open days that are taking place worldwide. Both commenters were discussing actual recruitment events; they were simply using different naming conventions. Therefore, if you look at the Emirates Group Careers cabin crew page, you will find clarification on each open day, as well as for invite-only recruitment events. As of September 2026, there are multiple open days available in Europe, Australia, New Zealand and North America. Separate invite-only recruitment events will be held in cities such as Istanbul, Casablanca, Colombo, Dhaka, Johannesburg and also in Dubai.

There is another route of application in addition to the online application form, which is to apply through an appointed agency. There are some cities where the agency is mentioned in place of the online application form, as in the cases of Jetexpo in Minsk, Airlige in Osaka, Top Fly Recruitment Academy in Buenos Aires and Aloha Partners LLC in Ukraine as of September 2026. In these instances only, you may be working with an agency when applying to Emirates. If you apply through an agency, you must find their contact information through Emirates’ own website and not through another source.

A table showing the three application routes will show the routes side by side. Emirates’ recruitment policies are only Emirates’ recruitment policies and there are no legal requirements associated with them, and they apply regardless of where you applied from.

The official FAQ will give you more options for attending an open day, if you can’t make it in your home country you can attend any open day that is listed. If you can’t attend the open day for which you received an invitation you can send a response to the invitation email and ask for another day in a few weeks. There is no mention on the website that they will cover expenses associated with traveling to an open day you were invited to, therefore, you should plan to pay for any travel costs that you incur.

The eligibility threshold is distinct from the previous answer. According to the official page, candidates must speak fluent English, be at least 160cm tall with a 212cm arm span, be over the age of 21, possess at least a year of experience delivering excellent customer service in a hotel/restaurant or similar environment, have completed grade 12 and not have any visible body artwork when wearing the uniform of an Emirates flight attendant. Further information about these topics can be found in our guide, “The Emirates Cabin Crew Requirements,” which was researched with help from the official website of Emirates. The only point made here is that the choice you make should not bring down your eligibility requirement.

The Open Day, Stage by Stage: From Sign-In to Final Interview

There are officially three parts to the recruitment day; an introduction to the role and living in Dubai given by the team, the assessment (consisting of group activities and an online test taken at the venue), and a final interview regarding your motivation for joining. From the candidate’s experience, the day is commonly described as being comprised of multiple elimination rounds, in which candidates have the opportunity to be cut from the process.

The difference between the official outline and the experience of the candidate creates an atmosphere of difficulty on recruitment days. Below is a summary of the common experience that a candidate will go through, with a breakdown of what parts are official and how candidates have experienced each part. The Emirates website was the only reliable source of information regarding the recruitment process as of September 2026. Candidate experiences will give you an overview of the typical recruitment process, noting that each venue & recruiter have their scheduling variations.

1. Sign-in. The official page asks for a valid ID for entry. Crowds can be large: a candidate at a 2025 Toronto open day estimated about 300 attendees.
2. Introduction (official). Recruiters walk through the role, working as Emirates cabin crew, and living in Dubai. Listen closely, because later answers about motivation go better when they echo what you heard here.
3. Early filter rounds (candidate-reported). The same Toronto poster described a first round where everyone introduced themselves using only the items the recruiters named, and many people were cut for adding more. Candidates and a cabin crew training site also describe a reach test to the 212cm mark, done in stockinged feet.
4. Assessment (official). The official FAQ describes group discussions and activities that test teamwork, communication and problem-solving. In the Toronto account, groups of 11 or 12 got a scenario (choosing which passengers keep cabin bags when bin space runs out), had about 10 minutes to discuss it and 5 minutes to present, and everyone had to speak. The online test is taken at the venue. Candidates describe an English test done on their own phones, with QR codes used between stages.
5. Final interview (official). Emirates describes this as a relaxed one-on-one about your motivation, your customer-service experience and why you suit the role. Candidates report it can run late or spill into a second day. One Buenos Aires candidate, writing in March 2026, said recruiters took their full-length photos on site at around 10pm.

Although candidates report many reasons for being unsuccessful, the most frequently described is that the reason is not inadequate English, but failure to follow instructions (ie, exceeding what was permitted under the introduction format, taking control of group-driven activity, neglecting the dress code). One candidate who posted in February 2025 believed she was dismissed due to saying “I” instead of “we” during a group presentation; she was unable to verify this, and the airline does not provide candidates with reason for rejection. These candidate accounts should be considered a representation of what recruiters are observing, and not a scorecard for the recruitment assessment process.

Once the day has passed, there is no definitive timeline posted on the official Emirates Recruiter page about making a decision on candidates’ applications. Candidates can view whether they have been selected. The way in which candidates have been selected will be interpreted as a rejection if they view their application on the Emirates Careers portal and see a change to “Interview Completed.” This is a community interpretation by some candidates and not a definitive determination by Emirates Airlines. Candidates must wait until they receive their email from Emirates regarding their application. Should you receive an email indicating that you have been selected, you will need to complete a self-declared medical form via email and, in some cases, see your personal physician. As a part of this process, you will also need your dentist to complete a dental certificate, which you will be responsible for paying for. After you have completed the required certificates, Emirates will process your work permit and visa. For those who are selected and complete the required documentation, you will be scheduled for a seven-and-one-half-week training program in Dubai, starting with three days of orientation. All of this information was published on the Emirates Recruiter website in September 2026.

What to Bring to an Emirates Open Day: Documents, Photos, and the Day-Of Kit

You must have a valid ID to enter the event, so please ensure that you can show it when asked. You will need to have three documents prepared and stored on your mobile device when arriving for the event. These documents are a current CV in English, a copy of your education qualification document, and a copy of your passport in a PDF format. If you do not have a passport, you may use your driver’s licence or national ID until you have been selected.

Older sources of information (guides) still advise bringing multiple printed copies of your CV and printed photos. For example, the guide from Cabin Crew Wings mentions bringing printed copies of CVs and photos; however, the Emirates recruitment process as detailed in September 2026 does not indicate that either of these items is required. While having an additional printed copy of each document may not be a negative idea, these are not required by Emirates at this time, and it is highly likely that having a phone full of incomplete files would be more of a challenge than bringing printed documents.

While the checklist does contain what Emirates requires, it is separated on this list. The items found in the official checklist are taken from the Emirates Group Careers website and image guidelines, effective September 2026. Therefore, they represent the employer’s direct request and not a requirement imposed by any authority in the UAE.

A few common issues have arisen repeatedly. As an example, one poster asked in the same thread whether taking a photograph of their passport and converting that to PDF would satisfy the requirement. The page specifies the format but fails to provide any detail on creating it, so saving a readable scan of your passport as a PDF will satisfy the requirements of the page. Be sure that your PDF opens on your mobile device prior to travelling. The second issue is that there are strict photo requirements: no glasses, watches or jewellery for the formal photographs, women should wear closed-toe heels and men are required to wear a suit and tie for their photographs. The requirements listed above apply to the online application, and they provide the best definition of the grooming standards expected of you during the interview.

How to Tell a Genuine Open Day From a Fake Invitation

According to Emirates Airline’s recruitment fraud warning, the only legit Emirates recruitment contact would never ask for any money from individuals applying for a job. The statement emphasizes that job applicants will never be asked to pay anything for travel, visa or work permit, nor provide any login information to complete the application process; they only send correspondence from official Emirates or dnata email addresses ([email protected]/[email protected]).

Because each step in the Emirates hiring process is quite distinct, it is relatively simple to identify fraudulent activity once you understand the entire timeline of the recruitment process. For example, Emirates does not require invitations to attend open days; therefore, any “invitation” to attend an open day that includes a registration fee is likely fraudulent in nature. Additionally, as of September 2026, Emirates does not currently hold online assessment days per the company’s official FAQ. Thus, if you receive a job offer solely after having been interviewed via video, it likely does not conform with Emirates’ stated recruitment process. As seen in a widely-distributed 2023 r/RBI thread; one user’s friend received assurances of Emirates training after a single Teams job interview. Many of the postings in this thread indicated that other Forum members who had been employed with Emirates also stated the recruiting process included multiple stages and was conducted face-to-face, and that this thread corroborates the existence of a potential scam and that Emirates’ website defines the official recruiting process.

Real costs can often appear to be scams, making it important to learn about them beforehand. If you have been offered a position with Emirates, you will be responsible for paying for pre-join medical and dental examinations (as per Emirates’ FAQ). The professional you see (doctor, dentist, etc.) will receive the cost of these exams directly from you and NEVER through a recruiter. In Gulf News’ article from August 2026, the Ministry of Human Resources and Emiratisation (MOHRE) issued a warning that numerous scams are being touted where scammers ask potential recruits for payment of “visa processing, medical examination, registration fees,” etc. Any request for you to pay an individual who recruited you for medical examination fees is a warning signal. You should book your own dentist appointment.

Legally, Federal Decree-Law Number 33 of 2021, Article 6 provides the foundation for these checks. It states that “no employer may charge workers for employment and/or recruitment fees, directly or indirectly.” Furthermore, “no person may act as a recruitment or employment intermediary in the UAE without a MOHRE licence.” The MOHRE is responsible for administering the Federal Private Sector Labour Law. This law specifically prohibits recruiting and/or employing an applicant without a MOHRE licence. Not only does Emirates have a policy specifically stating that it will never request payment from an applicant for recruiting/employment fees, but it is actively enforced by MOHRE.

This comparison summarizes what you need to look for when using your job offer. It highlights the current official policy of Emirates and the continuing advice provided by MOHRE as of September 2026.

If you receive a message that appears unusual but you are unsure if it is legitimate, do not respond to the contact details shown in the message. Always verify the event through the official Emirates Calendar website. The Emirates Cyber-Security Department requests that if you believe an email may be suspicious, you should send a copy of the email along with all of its header information to abuse@emirates.com. In return, you will likely only receive an automatic acknowledgement of your email. The cybersecurity page notes you may only get an automatic acknowledgement back.

Where Most Applicants Go Wrong

The majority of applicants who hit a snag do not have issues with meeting an English requirement or meeting the minimum eligibility requirements; however, many did not attend an event which would be considered the appropriate type of recruitment experience for them, did not provide the proper documentation to the event they attended, and/or were not reasonably following the instruction required at an event which was specifically designed to see how well each applicant adhered to the provided instructions. The most beneficial thing an applicant could do is to open the Emirates Group Careers Cabin Crew page before attending the event they are traveling to. At the same time as checking their own personal information for accuracy, applicants should also print and upload to their cell phone a copy of their CV, an official education certificate, and a PDF version of their passport. If an applicant has loaded the wrong label on the CV to the door, they could be turned away from their interview. Paying anyone to expedite the recruiting process can result in a loss of money because, according to Emirates Airlines, they do not charge applicants anything to apply to be a member of the Cabin Crew team.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I attend an open day in another country?

Yes. As stated in Emirates’ FAQ, for those not able to apply for an open day in their home country you are welcome to attend any of the open days around the world (as of September 2026). There is no mention of travel being covered by Emirates, so you will need to make and budget for your own travel arrangements.

I already live in the UAE. Can I walk into an open day in Dubai?

As of September 2026, Dubai is marked as Invite Only, so to apply you are required to fill out the online application form and wait for an email invitation if you reside in the UAE. Additionally, Emirates’ FAQ also states that if a candidate is located in one of the countries that is able to attend an open day in Dubai (or elsewhere), they can attend that open day if it is practical for them to travel to.

What if I don’t have a passport yet?

Candidates are required to provide a photo ID (therefore a driver’s licence or national ID card may be accepted) when applying. In addition, Emirates’ FAQ as of September 2026 states that passport information will only be requested once an applicant has been chosen for the role.

If I’m selected, will I have to pay anything?

Emirates does not charge for the application process and is responsible for all work permit and visa requirements. As stated in Emirates’ FAQ (as of September 2026), candidates are responsible for their own pre-joining medical/dental forms; however, the forms are to be completed by the candidate’s doctor or dentist and paid for by the candidate.

How soon can I try again after a rejection?

As of September 2026, the Cabin Crew page on Emirates’ website does not state how long the period of waiting is after applying for a cabin crew role. Reported by candidates, the waiting period of approximately six months is generally indicated in their email of rejection. Therefore, use your own email as the authority on this, because public resources have changed since then.