Emirates brings in no-nonsense referee for bad in-flight etiquette


Hayley Skirka
  • English
  • Arabic

Emirates is celebrating the start of the Rugby World Cup 2019 by pairing up with international referee Nigel Owens to remind passengers of the rules in play when flying with the airline.

In the first of a series of lighthearted videos, rugby refereeing legend Nigel Owens appears on an Emirates flight dressed in an official Rugby World Cup Japan 2019 top.

Nigel Owens is onboard with Emirates to celebrate the launch of the 2019 Rugby World Cup. Courtesy Emirates
Nigel Owens is onboard with Emirates to celebrate the launch of the 2019 Rugby World Cup. Courtesy Emirates

Blowing his whistle at an Irish rugby-shirt wearing passenger that's falling asleep on another traveller's shoulder, Owens yells "Roll away Green, roll away. Get back on your own side."

The stunned passenger moves back towards his own seat before Owens sprints off down the cabin.

Blowing the whistle on bad behaviour 

Dubbed Emirates etiquette guide to Rugby World Cup 2019, the video is the first of several tongue-in-cheek videos designed to show travellers what is fair play in the air.

More videos starring the world-record holding referee will be released across Emirates digital platforms and the airline’s social media channels throughout the tournament.

Hosted every four years, the Rugby World Cup sees 20 nations compete for the coveted Webb Ellis Cup. This year, it is taking place in Japan and kicks off today, Friday, September 20, running until Saturday, November 2.

Emirates is an official worldwide partner of the Rugby World Cup 2019 and passengers flying with the airline can watch all the matches live on Emirates' Boeing 777 fleet and the majority of its A380 aircraft.

Over 1.8 million people are expected to attend the tournament which is the third largest sporting event in the world.

A third of spectators will travel to Japan from overseas with many people making use of Emirates' daily flights to Osaka and Tokyo from Dubai International Airport.

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Three tips from La Perle's performers

1 The kind of water athletes drink is important. Gwilym Hooson, a 28-year-old British performer who is currently recovering from knee surgery, found that out when the company was still in Studio City, training for 12 hours a day. “The physio team was like: ‘Why is everyone getting cramps?’ And then they realised we had to add salt and sugar to the water,” he says.

2 A little chocolate is a good thing. “It’s emergency energy,” says Craig Paul Smith, La Perle’s head coach and former Cirque du Soleil performer, gesturing to an almost-empty open box of mini chocolate bars on his desk backstage.

3 Take chances, says Young, who has worked all over the world, including most recently at Dragone’s show in China. “Every time we go out of our comfort zone, we learn a lot about ourselves,” she says.

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UPI facts

More than 2.2 million Indian tourists arrived in UAE in 2023
More than 3.5 million Indians reside in UAE
Indian tourists can make purchases in UAE using rupee accounts in India through QR-code-based UPI real-time payment systems
Indian residents in UAE can use their non-resident NRO and NRE accounts held in Indian banks linked to a UAE mobile number for UPI transactions

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Common OCD symptoms and how they manifest

Checking: the obsession or thoughts focus on some harm coming from things not being as they should, which usually centre around the theme of safety. For example, the obsession is “the building will burn down”, therefore the compulsion is checking that the oven is switched off.

Contamination: the obsession is focused on the presence of germs, dirt or harmful bacteria and how this will impact the person and/or their loved ones. For example, the obsession is “the floor is dirty; me and my family will get sick and die”, the compulsion is repetitive cleaning.

Orderliness: the obsession is a fear of sitting with uncomfortable feelings, or to prevent harm coming to oneself or others. Objectively there appears to be no logical link between the obsession and compulsion. For example,” I won’t feel right if the jars aren’t lined up” or “harm will come to my family if I don’t line up all the jars”, so the compulsion is therefore lining up the jars.

Intrusive thoughts: the intrusive thought is usually highly distressing and repetitive. Common examples may include thoughts of perpetrating violence towards others, harming others, or questions over one’s character or deeds, usually in conflict with the person’s true values. An example would be: “I think I might hurt my family”, which in turn leads to the compulsion of avoiding social gatherings.

Hoarding: the intrusive thought is the overvaluing of objects or possessions, while the compulsion is stashing or hoarding these items and refusing to let them go. For example, “this newspaper may come in useful one day”, therefore, the compulsion is hoarding newspapers instead of discarding them the next day.

Source: Dr Robert Chandler, clinical psychologist at Lighthouse Arabia