It was a momentous day at the Emirates Aviation College in Dubai as the 10,000th cabin crew graduated from the international airline’s intensive training course.Mohana Chonayah, the 10,000th graduate, arrived in Dubai six weeks ago from Malaysia, where she was recruited after impressing Emirates recruitment officers during the careful selection process.

She was one of the 61 new cabin crew who has spent the last six weeks undergoing intensive training and assessment at the world-class Emirates Aviation College in Dubai. The graduates trained in state-of-the art facilities, including emergency training simulators and full-scale aircraft mock-ups, along with medical training accredited by the Royal College of Surgeons in Edinburgh to ensure that Emirates’ passengers benefit from being in the best qualified hands in the industry.

Mohana was joined on stage at the graduation ceremony by the first, 500th and 1,000th Emirates cabin crew, all of whom are still flying with the multi-award winning international carrier.

Today Emirates serves more than 100 destinations on six continents with a fleet comprising 111 passenger planes and 10 freighters.

Emirates Divisional Senior Vice President – Service Delivery Terry Daly paid tribute to the 10,000-strong team of Emirates cabin crew, “Our cabin crew occupy a special place in the Emirates family: they are the public image of our great airline. It is their grace and professionalism that helps to keep customers coming back to fly Emirates.”

He added that within five years, Emirates forecasted the number of cabin crew to tip 18,000. “Given our current aircraft order, we will eventually need more than 20,000 crew.”

Global cabin crew recruitment drives, particularly in areas on the Emirates passenger route network, including Malta, have resulted in a truly multi-cultural talent base of more than 120 different nationalities.

Emirates flies five times weekly from Dubai to Malta via Larnaca in Cyprus, on Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays on the Boeing 777-300. As from 1st December 2008, Emirates will be operating flights to Malta on a daily basis.