Exposed: How Qatar Airways risked lives of flight attendants for coronavirus PR stunt
Summary
Date Reported: 22 May 2020
Location: Qatar
Companies
Qatar Airways - EmployerAffected
Total individuals affected: Number unknown
Migrant & immigrant workers: ( Number unknown - Asia & Pacific , Transport: General , Gender not reported )Issues
Intimidation , Personal HealthResponse
Response sought: Yes, by Resource Centre
Story containing response: (Find out more)
Action taken: None reported. Qatar Airways did not respond to the Resource Centre's request for comment.
Source type: News outlet
“We had no choice. We were forced to work on these flights or be fired. Managers would threaten us using abusive language, saying things like, ‘Take this flight or go back to your third-world country’,” said a Qatar Airways flight attendant from a South Asian country...
“Some staff with good looks or who are favorites of the management, especially Europeans, were asked to stage an act for CNN that (suggested) we were very happy flying health-care workers... the (cabin) staff that were forced to work on those flights were given only threats"...
One criterion for deciding [redundancies]... is whether they have served the airline for more than 15 years.
This has reinforced the notion, rightly or wrongly, that ageism is ingrained in Qatar Airways’ hiring and firing policies.