Qatar Airways Is Already Rehiring Pilots And Crew

As travel begins slowly recovering, Qatar Airways has begun the process of expanding once again. The airline is already recruiting pilots and cabin crew once again, giving precedence to those laid off due to the pandemic. Let’s find more about this ongoing recovery at the carrier.

Unlike other airlines, Qatar has been starting new routes and seizing every opportunity during the pandemic. Photo: Vincenzo Pace | Simple Flying

Returning

During an exclusive interview with Simple Flying this week, Qatar Airways CEO Akbar Al Baker spoke at length about the future of the airline. The past year has been difficult for airlines globally, and Qatar has been no exception. Despite flying through the pandemic, the airline was forced to let go of a substantial number of employees.

However, those dark days seem to be behind Qatar Airways. CEO Akbar Al Baker has confirmed that the airline has begun the process of rehiring some pilots and cabin crew as demand returns. Currently, priority is being given to offering jobs to former Qatar Airways pilots and crew who were made redundant last year during cuts.

With such few passengers, Qatar Airways had to reduce its workforce to stem the losses. Photo: Qatar Airways

During the webinar, Mr. Al Baker said,

“I’m glad to say that we have already started recruiting again in Qatar Airways, both pilots and cabin crew, but we are giving priority to people that we let go, who has good performance will have good record to bring them back into the airline, and we are already doing this…I made a promise in the beginning to my staff. When I made a statement to them, how sad I was that they built Qatar Airways with us together and now we have to let them go, that we will bring them back as soon as we start ramping up and this is exactly what we are doing.”

Not across the board

According to a report from Simple Flying in February, Qatar Airways has reached out to Boeing 777 and 787s for rehiring invitations. While this offer seems to be limited currently, it’s clear that the airline plans to slowly send out more hiring invitations in the coming months. This will be great news for thousands of laid-off employees, giving them a chance to return in this tough time.

The 787 and 777s have been busy during the pandemic, operating passenger and cargo operations globally. Photo: Qatar Airways

However, hiring is not taking place across the board. COVID-19 has changed the shape of working and many of those in non-operational fields might not be returning. To this end, Mr. Al Baker said,

“But what we will do is, when it comes to the head office numbers, we will make sure that we bring efficiencies and not numbers again. But operationally grounded staff cabin crew, pilots, engineers, yes we will start recruiting them.”

This means that the airline’s non-crew footprint could remain smaller for years to come for now. However, for some ex-Qatar Airways crew and many others, the carrier will be a beacon of hope in a challenging time.

What do you think about Qatar’s decision to rehire some crew? Let us know in the comments!

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