Strategic responses by European airlines to the Covid-19 pandemic: A soft landing or a turbulent ride?
Open accessAbstract
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.
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The Discovery of Grounded Theory; Strategies for Qualitative Research
Glaser, B. G., Strauss, A. L., & Strutzel, E. (1968) · Nursing Research · doi:10.1097/00006199-196807000-00014 · Cited by 39,449 · see citing works
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Sun, X., Wandelt, S., & Zhang, A. (2022) · Transportation Research Interdisciplinary Perspectives · doi:10.1016/j.trip.2022.100718 · Cited by 99 · see citing works
- Authors
- Scheiwiller, S., & Zizka, L.
- Affiliations
- HES-SO University of Applied Sciences and Arts Western Switzerland (CH)
- Corresponding author
- Zizka, Laura
- ORCID
- Zizka, Laura
- Venue
- Journal of Air Transport Management
- Publisher
- Elsevier BV
- Published
- 2021-08
- Volume
- 95
- Pages
- 102103
- ISSN
- 0969-6997 (ISSN-L)
- PMC
- PMC9761506
- OpenAlex
- W3177336577
- Cited by
- 42
- References
- 1
- Citations by year
- 2026: 3 · 2025: 11 · 2024: 5 · 2023: 8 · 2022: 14 · 2021: 1
- FWCI
- 8.36
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- hybrid
- doi.org
- Licence
- Locations
- Journal of Air Transport Management (publishedVersion, cc-by-nc-nd)
- PubMed Central (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- RePEc: Research Papers in Economics (submittedVersion)
- ArODES (HES-SO (https://www.hes-so.ch/)) (submittedVersion)
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Communication › Public Relations and Crisis Communication
- Social Sciences › Economics, Econometrics and Finance › General Economics, Econometrics and Finance › Aviation Industry Analysis and Trends
- Social Sciences › Communication › Communication and COVID-19 Impact
- Keywords
- COVID-19 pandemic, Situational Crisis Communication Theory, European airlines, social media communication, Twitter, Facebook, press releases, crisis management, airline industry
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