Was Emirates’ terrifying and thrilling Burj Khalifa stunt real?
The Dubai-based airline stirred conversations recently after releasing its now viral ad featuring a flight attendant on top of the tallest building in the world—was it real or fake?
Emirates recently released an ad that celebrates the United Arab Emirates being moved from the United Kingdom’s “red list” to “amber list,” which means those arriving from any of the seven emirates don’t need to undergo a 10-day mandatory quarantine in Britain.
The airline went extra to celebrate this news by releasing an ad. The video, which currently has over six million views across the airline’s social media platforms, is not for the faint-hearted. Have acrophobia? You have been warned.
The 33-second video, titled “We are on top of the world,” features an Emirates flight attendant holding placards with messages, flipping them one by one.
“Moving the UAE to the UK Amber list has made us feel on top of the world,” the placards read. After one of the last placards were flipped, the camera zooms out, showing that the woman was actually standing on top of the world’s tallest building—the Burj Khalifa by Eemar in Dubai, which stands at 828 meters. This massive building is three times the size of the Eiffel Tower in Paris.
When the nerve-wracking clip was released on social media, many were in awe, while others doubted that the stunt was real. Some even noted that green screen or CGI effects were definitely used for the production.
After much speculation, the airline released a behind-the-scenes clip to answer those who were doubtful of the production.
The video shows clips of the team’s meticulous preparation and rigorous planning to make the project possible—from practicing on ground with cables and harnesses, to making sure that strict safety protocol was observed during the shoot.
The woman in the video, calm and collected on a platform on top of the building, was professional skydiving instructor Nicole Smith-Ludvik.
Smith-Ludvik is now among the handful who were able to stand on top of the tallest building in the world, including the UAE Crown Prince of Dubai Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, and actor Tom Cruise for his movie Mission Impossible 4: Ghost Protocol.
To make one of the highest ads ever filmed, the team had to muster not just mental but physical strength as the members needed to climb a ladder from the building’s level 160 for over an hour to reach the top.
Then a shot of Smith-Ludvik emerging on the top was shown, where she was in full Emirates flight attendant garb, complete with the signature hat and red shoes.
“We are the highest persons on the planet right now,” Smith-Ludvik said to the two members of the crew securing the harness on her back.
The video was filmed using a single drone shot without the use of any special effects.
On Instagram, Smith-Ludvik said standing on top of the tallest building in the world was a dream come true.
She received countless questions asking if she was scared while on top of Burj Khalifa and how she made it look so effortless. Smith-Ludvik said, “I think anyone, no matter how experienced at that height, would experience some type of fear. How could you not?”
“It’s easy to think that this may have been a simple stunt—it’s just climbing 200 meters up a ladder and standing on a small platform atop the world’s tallest building after all,” she wrote.
With her 14-year experience as a skydiver, Smith-Ludvik said he has learned that safety must be the top priority and how to think clearly in highly stressful, anxiety-inducing situations because her life depended on it.
Aside from crediting her yoga practice in helping her be mindful and focused on the task at hand, she also gave props to the production team, who made sure that everything is safe and secured to get the jaw-dropping footage.
Watch the actual Emirates video and the behind-the-scenes clip below:
Banner, thumbnail and article screenshots from Emirates' YouTube channel