The 10-seater Cessna seaplane which flew over the city with the journalists on board.

A group of journalists from Saudi Arabia and other GCC countries had a 30-minute familiarization tour and overview of Dubai aboard a Cessna 10-seater passenger seaplane on Aug. 27.

“The flight on a bright day was exciting, enabling us to see the city below,” said Haitham Hashem, editor-in-chief of Saudi Shopper, a monthly Arabic publication on technology.

He added that it was a good opportunity to see the city of Dubai by day from several thousand feet above and that it gave him a different experience and perspective.

Hashem was one of three newspapermen from Saudi Arabia who joined the trip. Faisal Alsaif, a blogger and CEO of Techpills Production Est., and another writer were also onboard.

The others are of various nationalities representing different newspapers in the UAE and other GCC countries.

“The plane ride was wonderful and a learning experience. The city throbs with life by day, but is serene and motionless from several thousand feet above sea level,” said one journalist for a big newspaper daily in Dubai.

“The flight was short but it was a welcome experience amid the workaday routine of a journalist pounding the beat daily for stories,” added a Dubai-based British journalist.

He added that the flight was smooth, with no air pockets buffeting the seaplane as it took off late in the morning from its landing pad just off the hotel where the journalists from the Kingdom had checked in.

The tour was sponsored by Nikon at Park Hyatt Dubai on Aug. 27 with the use of its latest camera, D810, for the journalists to take pictures of the buildings, including the Al-Burj Tower, the world’s tallest building.

 
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