What a weekend looks like as a student cabin crew

After a busy day at school, I get home feeling very hungry. Luckily, Hotel Dad/Mom is running at full capacity and dinner is already waiting for me. After eating, I sink into the couch, not to watch Netflix, but to begin my flight preparation.

That means reviewing safety procedures, checking flight details and going through the passenger list. Which flight? How many passengers? Babies on board? Special remarks? Everything gets reviewed.

Still, I can’t resist meeting up with friends for a short while. After all, I’m still a student. Don’t expect a wild night out though, by 9:30 PM, I’m already back home. One soft drink, that’s it. Priorities. Then it’s straight to bed.

The alarm goes off mercilessly early. Uniform on, one last check to make sure I didn’t forget anything, and off to Zaventem. About 70 minutes later, I arrive at the airport. Just like passengers, we crew members go through security as well. Via the staff entrance, I meet today’s colleagues.

We’re flying a Boeing 737-800: two pilots and four cabin crew. During the briefing, we assign positions and go over the flight details. Then we start the pre-departure checks. Once those are completed, boarding can begin.

Boarding goes smoothly. 189 passengers step on board. Nobody is really sitting in the wrong seat, although some passengers are travelling with quite a lot of hand luggage… (and there’s always one who stores it incorrectly and protests just a little too loudly).

Once everyone is seated, we close the doors. “Cabin crew, arm slides”, I arm the automatically inflatable slide at my door. We demonstrate the safety procedures, I check that seatbelts are fastened and declare my area secure. Ready for departure.

Above the clouds, service begins. 24 passengers have pre-ordered a meal. The remaining 165 can choose from the buy-on-board menu. I start serving the pre-ordered meals at the front, while my colleagues at the back prepare the buy-on-board service.

After that comes duty-free sales. Yes, it’s still a thing, and yes, perfumes still sell surprisingly well on board.

Once the passengers have eaten, it’s finally our turn. I heat up a sandwich and a croissant in the oven. Fun fact: aircraft don’t have microwaves, they only have hot-air ovens.

About 30 minutes before landing, we receive the signal from the cockpit. Time to prepare the cabin: collecting waste, cleaning the galley, final checks. I take my seat, fasten my harness and once again report my area secure.

After landing: “Cabin crew, disarm slides.” I disarm the slide, open the door and am instantly greeted by a warm Spanish breeze. Unfortunately, there’s no time to enjoy the Spanish climate.

Passengers disembark and, believe it or not, 55 minutes later, the aircraft is ready again with new passengers, new luggage and about 20 tons of fuel for the return flight to Brussels. I have to admit: it was a bit stressful to make our departure slot in time.

On the return flight, we have 167 passengers, two babies and one dog on board. We repeat the same routine as before: boarding, service, duty-free, eating and cleaning up. Just before descent, we experience some light turbulence. It briefly feels like a mini roller coaster, but it passes just as quickly.

After arrival, we check the aircraft for forgotten items. I store the extra seatbelts and infant life vests that were used during the flight. Then the six of us leave the aircraft and take a shuttle bus to the staff exit. Time for the 1 hour 15 minute drive back to Limburg.

At home, I take a shower, change clothes and briefly visit family. I try to study a bit for school, although I sometimes end up dozing off. I prepare my flights for Sunday and head back to bed.

Sunday is a true marathon. This time, we depart from Liège instead of Brussels, meaning 70-minutes driving too. Around 10:00 AM, I arrive in the crew room. During the briefing, it’s immediately clear: this will be a busy flight.

Passengers with different final destinations, several babies, many pre-ordered meals and a few elderly passengers who need extra assistance during boarding.

(This flight rotation no longer exists.)

After checks, boarding begins. Two passengers are missing during the count, slight stress, but they show up shortly after. Relieved, we manage to close the doors on time.

Just like the day before, we start with food and drink service after take-off. The flight to Tenerife takes four hours, so we even do a second service. We pass through the cabin with duty-free items and take a short break ourselves to eat.

We fly from Liège to Tenerife. In Tenerife, passengers disembark and board. Some remain seated for Las Palmas, others join us and fly back to Liège. Extra counting, extra checks, everything to ensure everyone ends up at the correct destination.

After a short leg from Tenerife to Las Palmas, another turnaround follows. Passengers get on and off, toilets are cleaned and the cabin is checked.

Once the doors are closed again, we head back to Liège. 182 passengers on board, including five babies. Once more, we repeat the inflight routine: service, duty-free, eating, service.

Twelve hours after checking in at the airport, I check out again. I feel tired, but also proud. So many passengers, so many people safely brought from A to B.

The alarm rings early again. With sleep still in my eyes, I gather my school materials and start a new school week. The weekend felt like a marathon, but also like a mini-adventure filled with learning moments, responsibility and great stories.

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