Advice from a friend to a young "edgy" relative transiting through Dubai: "Buy and take brand new luggage because if your old crappy bags have even the smell of marijuana let alone a tiny unusable fragment in them you will be in the slammer".
BBC NEWS | UK | Tourists warned of UAE drug laws
British tourist Keith Brown was sentenced to four years in prison after Dubai customs officers found a 0.003g trace of cannabis stuck to his shoe"
Then of course there are the women jailed for reporting rape.
Dubai - the best reason not to fly through the middle east.
Sharia law - coming to a city near you.
Our advice to the agents of our family company years ago operating in various third world countries was to always carry your passport and an open dated air ticket to some place like Singapore. In the event of a traffic accident or any other unpleasantness LEAVE IMMEDIATELY, do not even return home to feed the dog.
Reefrat:
Some nasty racist comments in this thread,, and some reasoned rebuttals as well, I worked over 30 years in the area and am disgusted with the prejudice displayed by some people, the thread was about the welfare of the FO , not about anonymous gutless racist comments,, GROW UP and act your age..
The problem we are referring to is the Racism of the UAE - which exists according to voluminous evidence, and is therefore a fit subject of discussion. THE FO involved, in my opinion, is going to need the good graces of the Australian Government if he is to see the light of day again, let alone pilot an aircraft. By definition, if a Dubai local was the pilot flying, then it can't have been his fault.