The handling of the blockade against Qatar from the perspective of Qatar Airways’ resilience
The handling of the blockade against Qatar from the perspective of Qatar Airways’ resilience

Summary/Abstract: Qatar Airways is one of the most successful airlines of the last two decades. In 2017, when the coalition led by Saudi Arabia imposed anair, land, and sea blockade on Qatar, the socio economic background of the sheikdom was destabilised. During this period, the flag carrier, which is vital for the country’s international air connections, displayed extremely high resilience despite the severe restrictions on its opportunities. This paper focuses on the substantial elements and the process of resilience regarding the entity. Further, the reliable and effective resources that provided a solid foundation for handling the crisis are examined and revealed. In addition to emphasising the learning process that constitutes an essential condition for adaptability, the structure of the external environment as an interface and the corresponding relationships are also analysed. Based on Qatar Airways’ response to the blockade, it can be concluded that despite the gravity, strength, and extent of the blockade, there has not been any irreversible damage to the functional operation and identity of the airline. The downturn triggered by the restricted airspace was manageable due to are silience strategy based on an effective action plan, thus, the system was restored within acritical timeframe. Some terms were introduced during the analysis to differentiate the crucial phases of the process in an event-specific way and provide a process-oriented approach towards resilient behaviour. To our knowledge, this isthe first attempt to interpret an economic and political conflict related to air transport from the perspective of resilience.

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