Impact and Responses to Covid-19 Pandemic by Indigo Airlines and International Airline Carriers

This report explores the impact of Covid-19 on the aviation industry, specifically Indigo Airlines and international airline carriers, and their responses in terms of new job design and working practices. It discusses the rationale behind the project, the context and background, research aim and objectives, research questions, literature review, methodology, research analysis, data collection, research philosophy, ethical considerations, sample size, risks associated with the project, and a Gantt chart.

Human Resource
Management and
Leadership Project

Contents
Section 1: Summary and Abstract............................................................................................................3
Section 2: Statements and issues that to be researched on the topic......................................................3
Rationale about project............................................................................................................................3
Context and background about the project...............................................................................................3
Research Aim..........................................................................................................................................3
Research Objectives................................................................................................................................4
Research Questions.................................................................................................................................4
Section 3: Literature Review....................................................................................................................4
Impact of Covid-19 pandemic on Indigo airlines, international Airline Carriers and allied aviation firms
in terms of new job design and working practices...................................................................................4
Responses to Covid-19 pandemic by Indigo airlines, international Airline Carriers and allied aviation
firms in terms of new job design and working practices..........................................................................5
Challenges faced by the aviation industry due to the outbreak of the pandemic......................................6
Section 4: Methodology.............................................................................................................................6
Section 5: Research Analysis....................................................................................................................7
Section 6: Data Collection.........................................................................................................................7
Section 7: Research Philosophy................................................................................................................7
Section 8: Ethical Consideration..............................................................................................................7
Section 9: Sample Size...............................................................................................................................7
Section 10: Risk associated with the project............................................................................................8
Section 11: Gantt chart.............................................................................................................................8
REFERENCES........................................................................................................................................10

Topic: Impact and responses to Covid-19 pandemic by Indigo airline’s,
international Airline Carriers and allied aviation firms in terms of new job design
and working practices.
Section 1: Summary and Abstract
A Human Resource Management and Leadership Project involves managing a team in
order to ensure an increase in the overall performance of the organization. This report is based on
developing an understanding of the impact of Covid-19 pandemic on the aviation industry and its
response to the same (Amarakoon, Weerawardena and Verreynne, 2018). Organizations have
taken various measures in order to respond to the pandemic and keeping in mind the safety of the
passengers as well as the employees. Aircrafts have to be sanitized before as well as after a
flight. But overall, the industry has been impacted by the pandemic to a great extent.
Section 2: Statements and issues that to be researched on the topic
Rationale about project
The rationale behind undertaking this project is to understand the impact as well as
responses to the pandemic by Indigo airlines, International Airline Carriers as well as allied
aviation firms in terms of new job design and working practices. This is because the outbreak of
the pandemic has affected the different industries and the jobs to a great extent. Indigo is a low-
cost airline that is based in India. The report identifies the ways in which Indigo has responded to
pandemic.
Context and background about the project
With the outbreak of the pandemic, the aviation industry has seen a loss of jobs. Indigo
airlines is a low-cost airline that has responded to the same in an effective manner (Analoui,
2017). various social distancing measures have been taken in order to ensure the safety of the
passengers as well as the crew members. The companies, including international Airline Carriers
have changed the job designs as well as working practices within the workplace.
Research Aim
“To identify the Impact and responses to Covid-19 pandemic by Indigo airline’s,
international Airline Carriers and allied aviation firms in terms of new job design and working
practices.”

Research Objectives
 To identify the impact of Covid-19 pandemic on Indigo airlines, international Airline
Carriers and allied aviation firms in terms of new job design and working practices.
 To determine the responses to Covid-19 pandemic by Indigo airlines, international
Airline Carriers and allied aviation firms in terms of new job design and working
practices.
 To analyze the challenges faced by the aviation industry due to the outbreak of the
pandemic.
Research Questions
 What is the impact of Covid-19 pandemic on Indigo airlines, international Airline
Carriers and allied aviation firms in terms of new job design and working practices?
 What are the responses to Covid-19 pandemic by Indigo airlines, international Airline
Carriers and allied aviation firms in terms of new job design and working practices?
 What are the challenges faced by the aviation industry due to the outbreak of the
pandemic?
The problem which aviation industry is facing due to the outbreak of the pandemic is that
there has been a reduction in the number of jobs (Bratton and Gold, 2017). Apart from this, a
large number of flights have been cancelled in order to diminish the losses.
Section 3: Literature Review
Impact of Covid-19 pandemic on Indigo airlines, international Airline Carriers and allied
aviation firms in terms of new job design and working practices
The outbreak of the pandemic has impacted the different industries across the world,
including the aviation industry. The main impact of Covid-19 on Indigo airlines, international
Airline Carriers as well as allied aviation firms is that there has been a loss of jobs. There are a
lot of employees that have been fired from their jobs or have been told that they might lose their
jobs. This is because the number of reservations and bookings for tickets has reduced to a great
extent (Crawshaw, Budhwar and Davis, 2020). As a result, the number of employees required by
these companies is less because of which they are firing employees. The aviation industry is a
small but important part of the economy and this is because it depends on various sectors. For

example, the manufacturers of aircrafts are highly dependent on the demand from the respective
sector.
Besides job designs, there has also been an impact on the working practices within the
aviation industry as well. Many countries have put a travel restriction on many airlines keeping
in mind the safety of the passengers as well as the employees. The international pandemic from
the spread of COVID-19 has created uncertainty for many as quarantines, hospitalizations, and
tragically, related-deaths hold to increase (Haneda and Ito, 2018). Travel restrictions have
reduced the mobility of people throughout the globe and the related poor impacts have
propagated to numerous industries. The transportation industry has been specifically difficult hit
as air tour keeps to reduce due to flight cancellations and capacity reductions. The airline
industry has experienced a lower in capability of roughly 60–80% at main carriers. Also, the stop
in the air traffic has also impacted the industry in a negative manner. Another reason behind the
same is that the people are have now become conscious about travelling. Various airlines, such
as Indigo Airlines has seen a massive decline in the number of bookings made by the passengers
as a result of the pandemic.
Responses to Covid-19 pandemic by Indigo airlines, international Airline Carriers and allied
aviation firms in terms of new job design and working practices
The aviation industry has responded to the pandemic in a significant way by adopting
various measures. The revenue generation within the industry is directly linked to the levels of
airline traffic (Keegan, Ringhofer and Huemann, 2018). As a result of this, airports across
different countries have limited their ways of reducing the costs. There are a large number of
jobs within the aviation industry that are at high risk. As there has been a change in the level of
demand as compared to that before the pandemic, the airline industry has adopted various
measures to respond to the pandemic. For example, Indigo Airlines has made it compulsory for
all its staff members as well as the customers to wear a face mask or a protective face shield at
all times whenever they board the aircraft (Additional COVID-19 measures introduced for
aviation industry, 2021). Apart from this, the passengers have to maintain social distance of at
least a meter inside the airport terminals as well as the aircraft. The aircrafts have to undergo
sanitation as well as sanitization treatments at least once a day depending on the amount of
traffic in the air.

Other measures that have been adopted as a response to the Covid-19 pandemic include
treating the surfaces that are most commonly touched by the passengers. The airlines as well as
all the allied aviation firms are now looking for employees who are experienced and can handle
multiple tasks at the same time. This has reduced the necessity of hiring multiple people to carry
out different jobs. It has been predicted that the number of jobs within the aviation industry will
remain low for some time. Also, the jobs are being designed by the management of the different
airline companies in such a way that only experienced and qualified employees are suitable for
undertaking these jobs.
Challenges faced by the aviation industry due to the outbreak of the pandemic
The outbreak of Covid-19 has posed many challenges to the aviation industry like the
flights have been delayed. Not only this, the number of bookings that are made by the customers
have also gone down. This is because there is a fear among the passengers of getting affected by
the same. The first and foremost challenge that the aviation industry is that there have been
massive losses because of the suspended operations (Korff, Biemann and Voelpel, 2017). This is
an remarkable venture for the world and there are no clear set up plans. Airports will ought to
trade many operations and could depend on technological answers as means of controlling and
managing the virus alerts correctly and quickly. In fact, technology can play a key position inside
the prevention, identification and safety of airport environments from the chance and unfold of
Covid19. There remain many uncertain and doubtful elements associated with the sector. Due to
the drastic drop in revenue, it'll be very difficult for airports in an effort to adapt to the high
priced manipulate and safety measures. The aviation region is present process a surprise, most of
the air fleets are blocked and among the borders among States are closed, proscribing the
movement of human beings and therefore main to the fall apart of the demand for air travel.
In the backdrop of tight liquidity, thin margins and high burn rate, the airlines have
continually been fragile to withstand the normal call for shocks, oil rate fluctuation, depreciating
currency, and so forth (Meyer and Xin, 2018). Industry has vouched the devastating impact of
those events ranging deep losses to airlines financial disaster Therefore, these are some of the
challenges that the aviation industry is facing due to the pandemic.

Section 4: Methodology
The general approach that is used in the respective research to collect data is secondary
methods. Various websites, online journals as well as books have been referred to in order to
ensure that appropriate and reliable data is collected. The data that was collected, was carefully
analyzed and tailored as per the need of the study. The methods that have been implemented for
the data collection process are structured. This is an important section of the study because it
provides the readers to evaluate and develop a better understanding of the study.
Section 5: Research Analysis
The research has been completed over a time period of four months, ranging from August
to December, 2020. There are certain skills that are associated with the process of data collection
as well as data analysis. Lack of budget as well as time are some of the risks that can affect the
outcomes of the research.
Section 6: Data Collection
Secondary data has been collected in order to address the literature review section in an
effective manner. also, various qualitative methods of data collection are used such as interview
method, observations and focus groups (Noe and et.al., 2017). These have allowed the researcher
to conduct the research in an effective manner and attain the goals and objectives of the same.
Section 7: Research Philosophy
Research philosophy can be defined as a brief regarding how the data for a particular
research topic should be collected. There are two types of research philosophies, interpretivism
and for the respective research, interpretivism research philosophy has been used. This is
because it will help the researcher in interpreting the results of the study in an appropriate
manner.
Section 8: Ethical Consideration
Ethics are an important component of a research and it is important for the researcher to
take into account the different ethics. For example, the researcher has to maintain the anonymity
of the respondents (Ogbonnaya and Messersmith, 2019). Informed consent is another ethical
consideration that has to be considered by the researcher while undertaking the research.

Section 9: Sample Size
The sample size of the focus group while collecting the data for the research is 30 people.
Sampling is also an important technique that helps the researcher in obtaining results for the
study. Therefore, for this research simple random sampling has been used in order collect data
from the respondents.
Section 10: Risk associated with the project
There can be certain risks that can affect the overall project such as use of inappropriate
methods of data collection (Noe and et.al., 2017). Apart from this, loss of confidentiality, loss of
important data and illegal invasions can also be cited as examples for risks that are associated
with the project. There are also certain legal risks that are associated with the project, such as
violation of the law.
Section 11: Gantt chart
Gantt chart can be defined as a type of bar chart that is used in research in order to track
the progress of the project. A Gantt chart typically represents that project schedule and has been
named after its founder, Henry Gantt. Therefore, it can be said that a Gantt chart helps in
simplifying complex problems. The time period in which this project was undertaken is
November to July.

REFERENCES
Books & Journals
Amarakoon, U., Weerawardena, J. and Verreynne, M. L., 2018. Learning capabilities, human
resource management innovation and competitive advantage. The International Journal
of Human Resource Management. 29(10). pp.1736-1766.
Analoui, F. ed., 2017. The changing patterns of human resource management. Routledge.
Bratton, J. and Gold, J., 2017. Human resource management: theory and practice. Palgrave.
Crawshaw, J., Budhwar, P. and Davis, A. eds., 2020. Human resource management: Strategic
and international perspectives. Sage.
Haneda, S. and Ito, K., 2018. Organizational and human resource management and innovation:
Which management practices are linked to product and/or process innovation?. Research
Policy. 47(1). pp.194-208.
Keegan, A., Ringhofer, C. and Huemann, M., 2018. Human resource management and project
based organizing: Fertile ground, missed opportunities and prospects for closer
connections. International Journal of Project Management. 36(1). pp.121-133.
Korff, J., Biemann, T. and Voelpel, S. C., 2017. Human resource management systems and work
attitudes: The mediating role of future time perspective. Journal of Organizational
Behavior. 38(1). pp.45-67.
Meyer, K. E. and Xin, K. R., 2018. Managing talent in emerging economy multinationals:
Integrating strategic management and human resource management. The International
Journal of Human Resource Management. 29(11). pp.1827-1855.
Noe, R. A. and et.al., 2017. Human resource management: Gaining a competitive advantage.
New York, NY: McGraw-Hill Education.
Ogbonnaya, C. and Messersmith, J., 2019. Employee performance, well‐being, and differential
effects of human resource management subdimensions: Mutual gains or conflicting
outcomes?. Human Resource Management Journal. 29(3). pp.509-526.
Online
Additional COVID-19 measures introduced for aviation industry. 2021. [Online]. Available
through:< https://www.lexology.com/library/detail.aspx?g=ff4dc3ce-ba83-43aa-90db-
adc4fce2c62e >.