Session Highlight: The World Is Watching 

The impact a crisis can have on an airport was stamped into the eyes of everyone sitting in 517BC following the short CNN video that started off the Crisis Communication: The World Is Watching session that was held during General Session 1. It showed some of the initial coverage of these three catastrophic recent events: 

>March 8, 2014: Missing airplane at Malaysian Airline
>May 5, 2016: Wildfires at Fort McMurray International Airport
>March 22, 2016: Two explosions at Brussels Airport

"We live in a world wracked with crises at all times," said James Cherry, pausing for impact as the attendees absorbed the reality of the horror in the videos. "And airports are never immune to these events that could have a major impact on our operations."

But, while there are different types of crises - ranging from floods to fires to bombs - they all have one thing in common: "They are unpredictable," said Cherry. Almost as unpredictable is the information posted on social media sites, such as Facebook and Twitter. "Almost everyone has a smartphone they can use to take a picture," said Cherry. "No filter." This causes confusion, especially in the beginning, in addition to giving every major crisis "a global dimension."

Communication, accurate communication, is an integral part of any crisis, however. "We know that crisis and communication go hand in hand," said Cherry.

Crises also require immediate action. "But, do you follow a plan or should you rely on your instincts?"

The leaders in this panel found out exactly how they would react to a crisis, as they are the leaders at the airports referenced in the video.

Tan Sri Bashir, Ahmad Abdul Majid, Malaysia Airports Holdings, said, "We don’t really want to talk about them. But they do happen." During the missing airplane crisis, communicating efficiently was paramount, but more difficult "especially as we don’t have as much control" in this area as we used to. "When an incident happens, the communication flow is no longer one way. Anybody and everybody can pass along the information. They can even create their own information... It becomes speculative. Everyone has a theory." 

Scott Clements, former President and CEO at Fort McMurray International Airport, went through a completely different kind of crisis, one with a face that he’ll never forget. "If you’ve ever been at the face of one of these things, it is hard to not get emotional," said Clements. During the May 2016 fire, the airport was "absolutely essential," said Clements. The Regional Emergency Control Center declared the airport an emergency asset. But it was "our high state of readiness and safety at the airport and in the region that were our keys to success," said Clements. "Plus, we kept the airport open 24 hours."

Arnaud Feist, the CEO of Brussels Airport Company, had a crisis in the form of at least one suicide bomber and two explosions. "All the exercises we had performed in the past were effective. But the realities you just cannot see," said Feist. The airport reopened to full capacity within 72 days, but only because four principals were followed: teamwork/empowerment, a vision for everyone involved, stakeholder management and communication. "We hired some external resources to strengthen the team and ensure we could be available 24/7," said Feist. And one of the aspects that had to be taken into account at all times was the emotional one. "This is a story of human beings, heroes, people who have gone beyond their duties to save lives and to help other people out."