30 May 2024
Crisis Communications
The aviation industry's commitment to safety is underscored by the latest IATA safety performance report, highlighting 2023 as a year with record-low accident rates and fatalities. Despite this commendable track record, recent high-profile incidents serve as reminders of the need for continual improvement and preparedness. In the fast-paced realm of aviation, where innovation and development are constant, the importance of crisis communication cannot be overstated.
"2023 safety performance continues to demonstrate that flying is the safest mode of transport. Aviation places its highest priority on safety and that shows in the 2023 performance. Jet operations saw no hull losses or fatalities. 2023 also saw the lowest fatality risk and all accident rate on record. A single fatal turboprop accident with 72 fatalities, however, reminds us that we can never take safety for granted. And two high-profile accidents in the first month of 2024 show that, even if flying is among the safest activities a person can do, there is always room to improve. This is what we have done throughout our history. And we will continue to make flying ever safer,” said Willie Walsh, IATA’s Director General. International Air Transport Association, 2023 Annual Safety Report.
While IATA’s safety report is reflective of the industry’s dedication to prioritising safety, the inherent risks associated with the fast-paced nature of the aviation industry with constant innovation and development, cannot be underestimated or ignored. Even though the results of safety initiatives are being realised, it is inevitable that accidents and claims will occur. An organisation’s preparation, training and discipline when an incident takes place is the difference between control and chaos. This period of commendable safety performance is not the time for crisis planning complacency. On the contrary, it is the optimal time to test, update and refine – or create - your organisation’s crisis response plan. A carefully crafted response plan is critical in the minutes, days, weeks and years following an accident or incident. Every aspect of a response plan is critical, however, internal and external communication in times of crisis can often be determinative of the reputational impact on an organisation after a major incident, not to mention an organisation’s liability positioning in the years to come. In the event of a crisis, how an aviation organisation communicates its response can have a significant impact on its public image and brand reputation.
"2023 saw the lowest fatality risk and all accident rate on record."
- Willie Walsh, IATA Director General
The age of instant communications
How the world communicates is constantly evolving and your organisation’s post-incident communication plan needs to evolve with it or risk your message disappearing in the flood of other communications regarding the incident or accident. In today’s lightning-fast world of social media, it is conceivable that within minutes of an aviation disaster, photographs, videos and audio could be disseminated from witnesses on the ground or passengers in the air. Not to mention, the immediate presence of the news media, and any person with a mobile phone becoming an instant commentator and aviation expert live streaming from the scene with simultaneous dissemination on social media. Refining your crisis communication plan after an incident, in this age of instant communications, is too late.
Roles, responsibilities and accountabilities
As a threshold matter, all crisis communication planning will be unique to your specific organisation. It needs to take into account your size, the resources available to you, your areas of operation and your potential role in an aviation disaster scenario. There is no single template that can fit each organisation, although one universal challenge is addressing the speed by which information, accurate or not, is within the public domain. A robust crisis communication plan will consist of detailed roles, responsibilities and accountabilities which will address both internal communications within your organisation as well as external communications disseminated from your organisation to others, including news outlets, social media platforms as well as regulators and various investigatory bodies.
An internal chief crisis communicator or communications team should be identified and defined within the plan and updated and revised on a scheduled basis. This internal team should be trained, familiar with their roles and responsibilities and be able to mobilise immediately after an incident. The team could consist of company leaders, representatives from key operating groups, safety personnel and investigators, company counsel, as well as professionally trained communicators. No doubt there will be a flurry of communications within your organisation in the aftermath of an incident and accident, however, the internal communications team should provide internal direction and discipline on the appropriate means of essential vs. non-essential communications, and the methods by which information will be shared internally, whether it be by daily/hourly update calls or meetings and identify who within the organisation should be required participants. Minimising the confusion and internal chaos is paramount, as well as knowledge by all involved of the necessary communication protocol. Picturing the filing of the inevitable lawsuit stemming from the incident, the lack of discipline surrounding immediate post-accident communications, where individuals inside your organisation are hypothesising or advancing opinions on what could’ve gone wrong, as opposed to sticking to the facts, will prove hazardous.
This team would also be responsible for providing updated factual information to internal stakeholders. In addition, an efficient and effective crisis communication plan must take into account the many external stakeholders and their information needs in a post-incident/accident environment. External stakeholders could range from members of the media to customers to regulatory agencies and investigatory bodies.
Reviewing existing infrastructure
Your organisation’s existing policies and procedures relating to external communications, including the news media and various social media platforms can create the foundation from which the crisis communication plan can be formulated. Many organisations provide education and training to employees and have specific policies aimed at handling media requests and directing media to a specific communications team that provides the organisation's only authorised response. This allows for a consistent and coordinated organisational response, which is especially critical in a crisis situation. When reviewing your organisation's existing media and social media policies and procedures, evaluate them through the lens of your organisation's overall crisis response imperatives. At the outset, the organisation’s communication team must be fully apprised and up-to-date on what items can be discussed publicly following an accident. For instance, if an accident occurs in the United States or its territories, the investigation is controlled by the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB), and it sets forth various prohibitions concerning communications that must be fully understood. Moreover, the communications team should have a checklist detailing the regulatory and investigative notifications that are required to be done in case of an incident and accident within the US or any other territory your organisation operates. The plan should also identify the point person for communications and requests from the authorities to be addressed by your organisation. Separate from the regulatory notifications, a notification checklist should be maintained with contacts within your organisation as well as those outside your organisation that are available to mobilise to provide assistance, which could range from your insurer or broker to your outside counsel or third-party surveyor or safety consultant. The contact checklist however is only as good as its last update, so it should be reviewed and revised on a scheduled basis to account for personnel changes and movements.
The aviation industry constantly challenges itself, to implement new ways to become safer on the ground and in the air. While great strides in safety have been accomplished, accidents and claims will occur. How an organisation responds in the face of an aviation accident can define it in the future. A comprehensive emergency response plan with a detailed and up-to-date crisis communication strategy addressing internal and external communication protocols will chart the path for an organisation to respond to a crisis in a proactive coordinated way.
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