Air passengers have to follow the sky rules

Readers discuss air turblence. Other topics: Etisalat, summer heat, lights and animal abuse

Your story, Passengers treated for injuries after Etihad flight hits severe turbulence (May 5), highlights the fact that many people are not educated about what they should do when flying.You have to keep your seat belt on all the time, regardless of whether the seat belt light is on or off.

If you are sitting in your seat inside the plane and someone gets injured because of turbulence, and they are not wearing their seat belt, it is their mistake.

Turbulence is something even the latest technology can’t overcome. Planes are designed to fly inside air zones, turbulence is technically a “no air zone” or a zone where there is fast vertical movement of air.

The plane then has to catch the horizontal air zone by decreasing altitude, which happens by free fall.

Ergun Gundogar, Dubai

I’m glad everyone is safe. This is my worst nightmare. I’d have severe post-traumatic stress disorder after something like this.

Patricia Cooksey, Dubai

Many people I see driving on the roads are not wearing seat belts. Is it the case that they don’t wear them in planes, too?

Name withheld by request

Disruptions raise hard questions

Thank you for the story, Internet services disruption in the UAE as Etisalat reports ‘power cut’ (May 5).

We experienced this power cut early on Thursday morning and luckily we were back online fairly quickly.

If Etisalat had a power cut, they should have added this infomation to the recorded message you hear when you ring their customer service numbers. The lines were all busy and most of those calling were probably those affected by the power cut not realising what it was.Hiccups happen, it’s how you deal with them that sticks in customers’ minds. When we called we just got an “all lines busy” message. It takes time but I hope standards will improve.

Clare Lawrence, Dubai

I am glad this was a power cut; I thought I’d have to call for a technician to come over.

Sara Smith, Al Ain

What is an unspecified power cut? Do these things just happen and engineers don’t know why?

J Martin, Abu Dhabi

Why does this happen every few months?

Rashed Mohammad Hasan, Abu Dhabi

Shedding light on animal abuse

Thank you for Rym Ghazal’s latest article, Slowly, progress is being made on animal rights (May 5). I live in the United States, and it is reassuring to know there are advocates for animal rights in the UAE.

Angela, US

What a thoughtful article. I don’t know as much as I should about the UAE – other than that Emirates is one of the world’s best airlines – but this article, which has brought me to this impressive newspaper, leaves me with a really good, positive feeling.

Karen Dawn, US

Where to build a sports complex

I am writing about the plans for a new stadium in Dubai (Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid reviews design for Dh3bn stadium, May 5).

I think it’s a shame the sports complexes in Dubai, like the Hamdan Sports Complex, are being build in areas far removed from the centre of the city, and are not easily accessible.

Name withheld by request

The best way to save on lights

I have some advice regarding your important story Dubai initiative to switch to energy efficient bulbs may save households Dh2,500 a year (May 4)

If you are thinking about changing your old halogen spotlights for LED lights, it is critical to be aware that you should change the driver too, otherwise your brand new LED lights will not last long. This simple oversight can cause many headaches that are easily avoided.

Dave Pryce, Abu Dhabi

Hot weather is on the way

I refer to the story, Hotter summer in story for UAE, study predicts (May 5). I can’t wait to head to India for the monsoons.

Matthew Litty, Dubai

It’s already too hot to be outdoors for five months of the year in the UAE.

Sammie Wai, New Zealand