Watch: How Emirates pulled off viral stunt with plane flying past woman on top of Burj Khalifa

Emirates pilots flew the A380 11 times around Burj Khalifa to get the perfect shot. (Image credit: Photo Instagrammed by nicolesmithludvik)

Dubai’s Emirates Airlines recently grabbed the internet’s attention with a video of a woman dressed as its cabin crew member and standing on top of Burj Khalifa, the world’s tallest building, as an A380 plane flies near her.

The airline released another video, explaining the behind-the-scenes story of how the viral advertisement video was shot, and the amount of effort that went behind the making of the video.

Emirates said it followed meticulous planning and the highest safety protocols as it prepped for the stunt. The airline painted the Airbus A380 blue, in the theme of the ongoing Expo 2020 happening in Dubai.

We did it again…only better! Watch behind the scenes to see how we took our A380 for a spin around the @BurjKhalifa for the making of our new advertisement. pic.twitter.com/cnjeeHc7VO

— Emirates Airline (@emirates) January 17, 2022

The chilling video features stuntwoman Nicole Smith-Ludvik, wearing an Emirates crew outfit, as she stands, fearless, at the highest point a person can be on a man-made structure.

The A380 whizzing past her may look easy in the final version of the video. But it wasn’t recorded in a single-take. To get the perfect shot of the jumbo carrier flying past the woman on top of the Burj, its pilots flew the plane 11 times around the skyscraper, at a speed of 145 knots, which, the airline said, was really slow for an A380.

Watch: Emirates 'cabin crew' stands atop Burj Khalifa as A380 flies close to her

The plane flew 0.5 miles away from the woman and in level with the top of the Burj Khalifa, following which, it took a spin around Dubai and flew over the Al Wasl Plaza at Expo 2020.

In August 2021, Emirates had performed a near-similar stunt with Emirates when the United Arab Emirates (UAE) was taken off the UK’s red list, easing travel restrictions amid the COVID-19 pandemic.