How Qatar Airways treats coronavirus calamity as a PR opportunity

How Qatar Airways treats coronavirus calamity as a PR opportunity

Exposed: How Qatar Airways risked lives of flight attendants for coronavirus PR stunt /node/1678066/middle-east. DUBAI: For a carrier that prides itself on the "five-star airline rating" granted by the ranking site Skytrax, Qatar Airways has surprised the global aviation industry during the coronavirus crisis by flying headlong into a PR disaster.. By its CEO Akbar Al-Baker's admission, Qatar Airways will cut nearly 20 percent of its workforce.. The feeling is all the more "painful" as the layoffs coincide with a $10 billion lifeline thrown by the Qatari government to ideological ally Turkey, whose foreign-currency reserves have been drained by the coronavirus crisis.. Michael Page, deputy Middle East director at HRW, put it bluntly: "Qatar has passed some laws to protect migrant workers, but the authorities seem more interested in promoting these minor reforms in the media than in making them work.". Left unsaid was whether the on-board staff had the right to opt out of the high-altitude experiment.. It would be unfair to single out Qatar Airways for mishandling the situation when the country whose flag carrier it is has become a case study in coronavirus-crisis mismanagement.. "Now, more than ever, (Doha's) promises need to be implemented and rights