What happens at the Etihad cabin crew assessment day

Etihad asks cabin crew candidates to declare their tattoos, and it states what happens if they do not.

Its style and image reference guides mark a region of the body, state that "All tattoos in the white area are not permitted", and add: "Failure to declare tattoos can lead to termination of contract." That sentence appears in both the guide for female applicants and the guide for male applicants. Emirates publishes a visibility rule with no stated penalty. Qatar Airways' recruitment page carries no tattoo policy at all.

The same guides require something neither Emirates nor Qatar Airways mentions on its cabin crew page. "Any visible scars or birthmarks on the body, must be declared", and the guides are explicit about how: "You must email a clear picture to ccrecruitment@etihad.ae mentioning the location of mark."

Set against that, Etihad does not make prior experience a requirement.

What Etihad asks for

The requirements sit in four panels on the cabin crew careers page. The first, "The essentials", lists:

• "Minimum age of 21 at the time of application."
• "Minimum height of 163 cm."
• "Fluent in English, written and spoken."
• "High school graduate (Grade 12 or equivalent)."

No hospitality, customer service or work-experience requirement appears on the page, or in the cabin crew job posting its Register buttons lead to. Of the three carriers, only Emirates makes experience a requirement, asking for "At least 1 year of hospitality or customer service experience". Qatar Airways puts "Preferably 2+ years of experience in hospitality, customer service, aviation, or another customer-facing role" in a separate list headed "What will help you succeed", outside its own essential qualifications. That is its recruitment page. Its cabin crew postings drop the two headings and put the same line, still prefaced by preferably, in one list of what would make you "a great fit".

On training academies, the page says: "While Etihad isn't affiliated with any Cabin Crew or Flight Attendant academies, students from these academies are welcome to apply."

The three carriers also measure candidates differently, and Etihad is the outlier. It publishes a height and no reach figure. Emirates publishes both, asking for "At least 160cm tall and able to reach 212cm high". Qatar Airways publishes a reach and no standing height, asking for a "Minimum arm reach of 212 cm". Etihad's 163 cm is 3 cm above the Emirates minimum, and it is the only one of the three that sets a height without also naming what you must be able to reach.

The remaining three panels cover attitude, ways of working and presentation. "A natural service mindset" asks for a genuine passion for people, travel and new experiences, a positive, confident, flexible and approachable attitude, and adaptability to fast-paced, ever-changing environments. "The way we work" asks for comfort with irregular hours on a roster basis, effectiveness in diverse multicultural teams, and commitment to onboard safety and strict adherence to procedures.

"Presenting your best self" carries the tattoo line in its careers-page form: "No visible tattoos while wearing the Etihad cabin crew uniform (cosmetic or bandage coverings are not permitted)." Emirates sets the same visibility test on its careers page, as "No visible tattoos while in Emirates cabin crew uniform", and closes the covering option in its own job posting: "No visible tattoos while you're in Emirates cabin crew uniform (without covering them with bandages or cosmetics)". Etihad's posting states the rule a third way, adding piercings: "No visible tattoos or piercings while wearing the Etihad Cabin Crew uniform".

Getting to a day, and where Etihad's pages disagree

Etihad's careers page describes its assessment days as invitation-only: "If your application stands out, we'll invite you to one of our Cabin Crew Assessment Days. Our Recruitment team runs these invite-only Assessment Days around the world."

Further down, the same page lists nine recruitment events. It does not say which of them, if any, are those assessment days. Three carry an "Invite-only" label and six carry none.

The pages behind the Register buttons pull in different directions. Six of the nine buttons, including all three invite-only events, open Etihad's general Cabin Crew job posting, the same one its Apply now button opens. That posting lists all nine events, the three invite-only ones among them, and addresses every reader: "Join us at one of our upcoming recruitment events, where you can bring your CV, introduce yourself and take the next step towards joining our Cabin Crew team." It calls them "a chance to fast-track your application" and says nothing about needing an invitation.

The other three buttons open registration pages of their own, for Chisinau, Bucharest and the London Job Show. Etihad titles each one a Cabin Crew Recruitment Day, where you register to attend, hand in your CV and put questions to the recruitment team. None of the three mentions group activities, assessments or an interview. The Chisinau and Bucharest days run from 9am to 5pm, and the London Job Show from 11am to 5pm on both days.

Etihad's careers page spells the Georgian capital "Tbillsi". Its job posting spells it correctly.

So three of the nine have a sign-up page of their own. For the other six, the route Etihad gives is the general cabin crew posting, no venue is published, and Etihad's two pages disagree about whether you need an invitation. Apply through the posting before you travel. The label on the card tells you less than where its button goes.

The posting also offers a way in for anyone who cannot reach any of the nine cities: "Can't make it to any of these cities? Register for a virtual assessment by clicking here."

One more format appears on a third page. The style and image page tells candidates to review the guidelines "Before attending an Open Day or Assessment Day", and the cabin crew page mentions no open days.

The day itself

Etihad's careers page describes the assessment day in a single sentence:

"On the day, you'll take part in interactive group activities, complete aptitude and English language assessments, and join us for a final interview where we'll chat about your experience, motivation, and what excites you about the role."

That sentence names group activities, aptitude and English language assessments, and a final interview. It does not say whether the aptitude and English assessments are taken separately or together.

Etihad is the only one of the three carriers to name an English language assessment, and it publishes nothing about its format, level or pass mark. Emirates confirms an unspecified "online test at the venue" without saying what it covers. Qatar Airways requires fluency and publishes no test of it.

Emirates publishes more structure about its day. It sets out three labelled stages, an introduction, an assessment and a final interview, and adds a document checklist. Etihad's careers page gives one sentence and no document list; its posting and recruitment day pages say only that you can bring or hand in a CV.

Neither airline says how long an assessment day runs, what the assessments contain, what score passes, or how many candidates progress.

The style and image guides

Etihad publishes grooming standards as two reference guides, one for female applicants and one for male applicants, linked from its cabin crew guidelines page. Emirates shows its recruitment event dress code only as pictures, with no accompanying text. Qatar Airways' recruitment page carries nothing on appearance.

Between them the guides set rules for business attire, hair, make-up, nails, jewellery, footwear, stockings, facial hair and sideburns. Many are measurements: the female guide allows a heel of one to two and a half inches, and the male guide a beard between grade 1 (3 mm) and grade 2 (6 mm). Others, including make-up and the male suit, shoes and belt, are set by colour and style. The two guides do not cover the same categories as each other.

Read the guide that applies to you, because the tattoo diagrams differ between them. In the female guide, the shaded area where tattoos are permitted runs from the shoulders, with short sleeves, down to mid-thigh. In the male guide it runs from the neck to the feet, with sleeves to about the elbow. A tattoo on the lower leg falls outside the permitted area in the female guide and inside it in the male guide. The rule is drawn, not written, and "the white area" means nothing without the picture.

The guides also set out the photographs candidates must submit: "2 full length photos (long sleeve & short sleeve) and 1 passport size photo (3.5 x 4.5 cm)", professional studio pictures only, "sharp, unfiltered and recent", against a plain white background with even lighting.

Men should check one conflict before booking a studio. The photograph rule states "Only black and white professional business attire permitted", while the male guide's own attire section, in the same document, gives recommended suit colours as plain black, navy blue or dark grey, and allows a navy-blue tie. A navy or dark grey suit follows the attire section and breaks the photograph rule. A black suit, white shirt and black tie satisfy both. Etihad does not reconcile them.

What the job pays, and what comes with it

Etihad's careers page puts no number on pay. It offers "a competitive, tax-free salary that recognises your skills", travel benefits, and three-year renewable contracts.

The cabin crew job posting its Register buttons lead to does give a figure: "Tax-free salary: Earn up to AED 10,000 per month, including additional pay for flight hours and layovers, depending on your roster." That is a ceiling, and it already includes flying pay. Etihad gives no basic salary and no average, so the number does not line up with what Emirates publishes for its entry grade: a basic salary, an hourly flying rate and an approximate monthly total.

On housing, the careers page offers "a modern, fully serviced home in Abu Dhabi". The posting is more specific: "Full relocation support, including 30 days of hotel accommodation on arrival and fully furnished shared accommodation", and "Free, reliable transport between your accommodation, training and the airport". It lists 30 days of annual leave a year, worldwide medical insurance for you and your family, and free annual tickets.

The posting also sets out a progression timeline, which the careers page does not: Economy to Business Class from 12 months, Business Class to Cabin Senior from 12 months, and Cabin Senior to Cabin Manager from 24 months. Etihad adds that "Progression timelines depend on individual performance and business needs." Added up, the published minimums come to four years from joining to Cabin Manager.

The base is Abu Dhabi, and Etihad gives its cabin crew strength as "5,300 cabin crew (and counting)". Its two pages disagree about the network behind that: the careers page offers "70+ destinations to explore", while the posting says Etihad connects Abu Dhabi "to over 100 destinations worldwide".

What Etihad does not publish

No training length or structure. Emirates publishes "an intense seven and a half weeks" across seven named stages with durations. Etihad's careers page names hospitality, safety and emergency, and aviation security as things you will learn, and gives no timeline.

No assessment day duration, no assessment content, no pass mark, no pass rate, and no timeline between the day and a decision.

A note on sourcing

The requirements, the assessment day sentence, the events list, the invitation sentence and the benefits come from the Etihad cabin crew careers page, read on 22 September 2026. The pay figure, the housing and transport lines, the progression timeline, the recruitment events wording and the virtual assessment come from Etihad's Cabin Crew job posting, which six of the nine Register buttons open, read the same day. The recruitment day details for Chisinau, Bucharest and the London Job Show come from Etihad's registration page for each. The grooming, tattoo, declaration and photograph requirements come from the two style and image reference guides Etihad links from its cabin crew guidelines page, also read on 22 September 2026.

The Emirates and Qatar Airways comparisons come from those airlines' own cabin crew pages, read on 21 September 2026, and from each airline's own cabin crew job posting, read on 23 September 2026. Where this piece says a carrier publishes nothing on a subject, that is scoped to those four pages.

Etihad's events list and requirements may change after 22 September 2026. Check the Etihad pages listed in the sources before applying or travelling.

Where Etihad does not publish something, this piece says so. Nothing here comes from candidate accounts, coaching sites or recruitment agencies.