Why is Qatar Airways Taking People Home?

Qatar Airways has won international plaudits for soldiering on during the coronavirus crisis, launching a campaign to Take People Home. But with a World Cup looming marred in allegations of corruption, links to terrorism and a dubious human rights record, does its state owner have an ulterior motive? 

Tucked away on Qatar Airways’ YouTube channel is a seemingly innocuous 30-second corporate advert that has, so far, amassed an eye-popping 330,000 views. The footage begins with a camera soaring through sunset-lit clouds as a piano track accompanies the voice of a British woman. “We understand that life is challenging right now,” she says delicately, in perfect Queen’s English. “We are here for you. Where others are stepping away, we remain by your side to get you to where you need to go.” The scene soon pans to a young girl at an airport charging down the pavement to be reunited with her father – leaping into his arms as he clutches a large teddy bear. “Qatar Airways,” says the narrator, “We will get you home”. Underneath, are dozens of comments from posters around the world expressing their personal gratitude littered with thumbs up and bulging heart-shaped eyes emojis. It’s perhaps not so surprising given the carrier has now, incredibly, flown more than one million people “home” since the start of the coronavirus pandemic. 

‘We are thankful to the Australian government, airports and staff for their support in helping us to add additional flights to get people home’ 

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It does, however, mark quite the shift in reception from the national carrier of a country better known for its links to migrant exploitation, terrorism, surveillance, human rights abuses and next year’s football World Cup, currently under investigation by the US Department of Justice for bribery. Or in other words, Qatar has quietly launched one of the most devastatingly effective national PR campaigns ever seen through its state-owned airline. “We are not taking advantage,” wrote chief executive His Excellency Akbar Al Baker, in one of the many press releases received by Australian Aviation over the past few months. “This is a time to serve people who want to be with their loved ones in a very trying time.” 

It’s a success though, rooted not just in its snappy slogan – #takingyouhome – but the sheer guts and grunt work of continuing to soldier on despite the coronavirus pandemic forcing virtually all of its rivals into partial retreat. At the start of the crisis, in late March, Qatar Airways was operating 150 daily flights to more than 70 cities worldwide and, as this issue nears print, it was still flying to 30 destinations despite airport shutdowns, quarantines and draconian movement restrictions. And as Qantas and Virgin Australia grounded all commercial international flights at the end of March, Qatar actually expanded its operation in the country, adding 48,000 seats. “We are thankful to the Australian government, airports and staff for their support in helping us to add additional flights to get people home, and in particular, to bring flights to Brisbane,” said Al Baker back then. 

It’s possible because the country’s major airport, Doha, remained open throughout the crisis, even as similar transport hubs in Singapore, Dubai and Abu Dhabi endured periods of shut down. It’s not just people, Qatar Airways has transported 50,000,000kg of medical and aid supplies – the equivalent to “roughly 500 fully loaded” 777 freighters. 

To give that some context, the International Air Transport Association announced global international passenger demand shrank 55 per cent year-on-year in March 2020, with a more brutal reduction expected for April. Even legendary American investor Warren Buffet shifted his $4 billion worth of recently purchased shares in American, United, Delta and Southwest, calling his shopping an “understandable mistake”. Virgin Australia, of course, is currently languishing in administration. 

But why? Well, it’s certainly not a decision that has made much financial sense. Even at the end of March, Qatar said it would have to seek government support to survive. “The truth is,” wrote Al Baker to staff in an email sent at the start of May, “we simply cannot sustain the current staff numbers and will need to make a substantial number of jobs redundant – inclusive of cabin crew.” The airline had so far resisted making cuts to its 45,000 staff, but now is pledging to “act decisively to protect the future of the business”. 

‘We will fly as long as it is necessary’

The country of Qatar has a far more immediate problem to solve. Next year’s football World Cup, of which the country is sole host, is set to be one of the first major showpieces for the post-COVID-19 world. And what started off as an extraordinary coupe to hold it has descended into a PR nightmare. 

The first whiff of problems came on the day it won the right to host the competition, on 2 December 2010, when it beat Australia, South Korea and the United States. How on earth, asked many in the football community, did a country with a population of just 800,000, with no pedigree in the game, and scorching summer heat win against such prestigious competition? What was the logic, they asked, in building stadiums with an enormous combined capacity of 300,000 that would be left empty when the competition was over? 

It didn’t take long for journalists around the world to start digging, as the competition unravelled. Migrant workers on its building sites, it was reported, were dying in the hundreds, bribes were paid, and there were even links found between the Qatar Football Association and, astonishingly, Al Qaeda. Finally, in April 2020, the US Department of Justice said, for the first time, representatives in Qatar had bribed world governing body FIFA to hold the competition. 

It all came at precisely the wrong time for Qatar, which was battling a PR disaster on a number of fronts. Not just on apparent human rights offences – Amnesty International cites how the country can imprison anyone who publishes “incorrect news” about the state – but an escalating row with its neighbours in the UAE. In 2017, relations soured to the point the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain and Egypt imposed a political, trade and transport boycott on Qatar, accusing it of supporting terrorism and Islamist militants. At one point, the UAE refused to even run postal services between the countries. 

But right now, in the fog of coronavirus, countries have far bigger issues to worry about. And so Qatar’s indiscretions are being quietly forgotten as countries scramble to fly their citizens home with their own national carriers on life support. “We have received many requests from governments all over the world, embassies in certain countries, requesting Qatar Airways not to stop flying,” Al Baker told Reuters by phone from Doha. “We will fly as long as it is necessary and we have requests to get stranded people to their homes, provided the airspace is open and the airports are open. We have built a strong level of trust with passengers, governments, trade and airports as a reliable partner during this crisis and we intend to continue delivering on this mission as we gradually expand our network.” 

By Australian Aviation’s count, the carrier has already worked with administrations in Australia, France and South Africa, but likely with many more. For many countries, the state-owned airline has been a lifeline for it to avoid endless bad headlines of stranded citizens. 

It represents the finest hour of an airline that effectively rose from the bloated guts of Gulf Air, the former flag carrier of four middle eastern countries. Launched in 1994 as a small regional with four aircraft serving a handful of routes, it quickly grew big enough to be relaunched three years later. And then things skittled along at breathtaking pace. By 2011, it was travelling to 100 destinations and was named airline of the year; in 2013 it joined Oneworld; in 2014 it was the “launch customer” of the A350 and then, in 2016 it announced it was committed to purchasing 100 Boeing aircraft worth $90 billion, including 10 777s, 30 787- 9s and 60 737 MAXes. It wasn’t just its own operation, with Qatar purchasing a 20 per cent stake in IAG, the parent company of British Airways. 

“Qatar will remain the first port of call for many long into 2021”

Today, Qatar boasts one of the world’s most diverse, and youngest, fleets, including long-range 777 passenger and freighter aircraft, the 787 Dreamliner, 747F and Airbus A340, A330, A350, A380, A330F freighter, A321, A320 and A319. The latter A319 includes a corporate jet version, naturally. The airline claims the average age of all of its aircraft is just five years old. 

Or in other words, Qatar has emerged as a major player in international aviation and now, possibly, as a major player in the coronavirus crisis. 

So what now? Well, in Australia, domestic and New Zealand flights look set to resume in late winter but, as yet, there’s no timetable for a return to international travel. All Qantas and Virgin international flights, bar government supplemented repatriations, have been grounded. The UK is set to enforce two-week quarantines at London Heathrow; and American is still wrestling to open up. A situation that remains consistent around the world. And, as long as that remains the case, Qatar will remain the first port of call for many long into 2021. 

And there is no end in sight: by the end of May, as restrictions ease, they aim to ramp back up to 50 destinations, and by June, 80. “I am sure there will be demand,” Al Baker told Reuters by phone, forecasting the airline would fill around 60 per cent of seats. “There are still a lot of people stranded around the world and people who want to visit their loved ones.”