Qatar Airways: The Multifaceted Reactions to COVID-19

The world’s largest long-haul airlines have halted most of their flights. Because of the COVID-19, global airlines’ hubs such as Doha are going through its most silent springtime in recent decades.

Confronting the rapidly disseminated coronavirus, thousands of people’s lives and futures are profoundly impacted, especially for employees working for those Middle Eastern aircraft giants such as Qatar Airways.

Photography by Xiahanqing Wu

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Health is the very first concern that these employees hold.

Qiaona Wen, 23, is a ground crew member working at Hamad International Airport. Her colleagues and she requested permission to wear face masks and gloves for basic protection at work.

“At first, my supervisor did not allow me and my colleagues to wear face masks because he thought it might scare our clients and damage the fame of ‘the five-star service’ we provide,” Wen complained about the dilemma she faced.

Wen comes from a town near Wuhan, and after the coronavirus outbreak began there, she witnessed what her family and friends did to protect themselves. For instance, they wore face masks while going to densely populated areas and avoided taking public transportation.

“I think that my supervisor’s excuse that ‘we have to provide the five-star service to clients’ sounds crazy. I could no longer see a safe workplace so I decided to take unpaid leave.” Wen explained why she is now staying at home in China. She is proud of her forward-looking decision. “After I left work, Qatar reported its first community transmission case. Although I lose parts of my salary, it is worthwhile, compared to the healthy and reassuring life I live in.”

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Several days later, Doha suspended all inbound flights for 14 days until Mar. 16. It canceled all inbound flights and suspended the vast majority of transfer flights. To airport employees like Wen, even though Qatar Airways tries its best to maintain the operation of its world’s youngest Airbus and Boeing fleets at this moment, they are no longer needed.

Photography by Xiahanqing Wu

To the rest of its passenger service, Qatar Airways continuously operates flights to many major cities around the world, including Chicago, London, and Tokyo, “helping thousands of passengers get home safely,” as it claims on its website.

Hence, as a cabin crew member, Winnie Lee, 31, encountered a slightly bit different dilemma at work. She also was not allowed to wear face masks or gloves while working in the cabin, but she was asked to continue working. Thus, she appealed to higher-level supervisors, emailed to the internal affairs department, and sought help from her embassy.

Lee hopes her embassy can put pressure on the company so that her colleagues and she can efficiently protect themselves while working in highly risky conditions.

“Qatar Airways should treat its employees’ lives equally as it serves its clients,” Lee said, “but fortunately, the internal affairs and my embassy replied to me as soon as possible. My embassy did forward my concerns and appeals to my company. And soon after the responses, we started to wear face masks and gloves in the cabin.”

Nonetheless, Lee chooses to continue working in the cabin and stays at her apartment in Doha. Lots of her colleagues took unpaid leave and went back home, especially for those who come from East Asian and Southeastern Asian countries that suffer from the pandemic the most since the beginning stage.

Compared to dozens of medical checks and long-term quarantine life she will confront as she goes back, Lee feels better working in the cabin with fewer consumers.

I remembered the first flight after Qatar placed the entry ban. It was the flight from BKK (Suvarnabhumi International Airport in Bangkok) to Doha, and there is no passenger on board. Ever since that, we have passengers outbound, but no longer foreign passengers inbound,” Lee added. “I am witnessing history being made, and I am a part of it.”

According to Bloomberg, a spokesman of Qatar Airways confirmed that the company has a temporary reduction of 40 percent of staff at Hamad International Airport due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Both Wen and Lee said they have no idea about their future life and career. “All I can do is wait for the next email from my supervisor. That’s it,” Wen added.

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Nonetheless, in the sphere of business, Qatar Airways’ future in the current and following fiscal years is still clear and ambitious.

Qatar Airways’ CEO, Akbar Al Baker, recently published an official statement and said, “Now, more than ever it is important to support global trade that ensures the supply of essential goods and vital aid worldwide. I am thankful for the airport authorities, ground handlers, cargo agents, and governments around the world who have helped us increase our services to fulfill the demand for time-sensitive freight.”

As the first Middle Eastern airline that its cargo service to Mainland China, on Mar. 30, Qatar Airways restarted belly-hold cargo operations to six destinations in Mainland China. According to the predicted data provided by China’s General Administration of Civil Aviation, the cargo service provided by Qatar Airways will add 600 tons of weekly cargo capacity, especially for medical supplies.

Photography by Yuchen Zhang, China Central Television

“To show its (Qatar Airways) muscles at such a special time is very meaningful to its brand image. It is better than any other advertisement or PR (public relations) endorsements,” said an economic researcher from Princeton University.

However, it’s still worth noting that these resumed flights are operating without any cabin crews like Lee.