A Swot Analysis on the Effects of Covid-19 on Turkish Airline Companies

The Covid-19 virus, which emerged in Wuhan, China and became an epidemic by affecting the whole world, seriously affects the air transport industry and all sectors. Due to the Covid-19 outbreak, airlines lost most of their revenues while their costs also increased. Due to the loss of revenue and increasing costs, many airlines began to face financial difficulties, while some airlines declared bankruptcy, others had to separate their way with a certain number of employees to avoid bankruptcy. Airline companies are trying to survive during the Covid-19 pandemic period, not to earn above average income or gain competitive advantage. Therefore, airlines need to develop various strategies to survive. In this study, the airline companies in Turkey, SWOT analysis was performed during an outbreak of Covid-19, various strategies have been proposed and analyzed according to the results. The data of the research were collected from academic studies, business activities and financial reports and news in the media. As a result of the analysis, it was seen that the strengths of the airline companies are very few. On the other hand, it seems that the weaknesses of the companies and the threats that may arise in their environment are quite high. Various strategies have been proposed based on the results of the analysis. Strategies such as the use of passenger planes for cargo transportation, domestic and international information activities, hedging low-price fuel, evaluating regional aircraft, long-term and low-interest loans, lobbying for government support, renting or selling excess aircraft in the fleet, and increasing the number of domestic lines is recommended.

Keywords

Civil Aviation Management, Strategic Management, Airline Companies, Covid-19, SWOT analysis