Strategic responses by European airlines to the Covid-19 pandemic: A soft landing or a turbulent ride?

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jairtraman.2021.102103Get rights and content
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Highlights

  • The Covid-19 pandemic has affected all industries, particularly the airline industry.

  • Airlines communicated messages regarding grounding and travel.

  • Situational Crisis Communication Theory (SCCT) was applied to the airline industry.

  • The most employed SCCT communication strategy by the airlines was instructing and adjusting.

Abstract

The coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic has dramatically affected the aviation industry. This paper investigates how 20 European airlines communicated their crisis messages during the pandemic by employing Situational Crisis Communication Theory (SCCT) to airline responses. This qualitative study consisting of a systematic review and content analysis, examined 7237 messages from social media channels and press releases posted between December 1, 2019, and May 25, 2020, when the crisis unfolded worldwide. The results indicate that the airlines primarily emphasized instructing and adjusting crisis communication strategies. Further, Twitter replaced Facebook as the primary communication channel. This study provides insights on how airlines can and should communicate crisis-related messages amidst a severe pandemic. The study concludes with the implications of these findings and recommendations for airline stakeholders moving forward.

Keywords

Airline industry
COVID-19
Crisis communication
Situational crisis communication theory
Twitter
Facebook

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