Fly. Exciting and exotic. It's safe!
However, history has already shown us that sooner or later there will be new emergency situations in air transport, accidents, and crises involving airlines, which may even be the result of cyber attacks or simple incorrect handling of luggage. These are situations that may be occurring right now, as you read this article!
An old proverb once said: “May you live in interesting times!” And the reality is that we are indeed living in interesting times. The amount of technological changes we are undergoing is simply gigantic. Currently, it is estimated that there are more mobile phones in circulation than there are people. At a time when we talk about the use of synthetic data (the new frontier of artificial intelligence). Metaverse, spatial computing, XLabs. We literally live in the post-pandemic digital era.
But how does this affect crisis management in the aviation industry?
Nowadays, any crisis environment almost immediately generates images, comments and photos available to a global audience, with a real-time audience – and are there limits for engers to film, for example, an emergency situation on a flight? Question for reflection.
On April 17, 2018, a enger on Southwest Airlines Flight 1380 from New York La Guardia to Dallas Love Field became the first person to broadcast live commentary and video footage of a flight in a serious emergency situation. As the plane tried to land, the enger purchased credits from the airline's onboard Wi-Fi service and was able to stream in real time: he paid the $8 connection fee and went live on Facebook to say goodbye to his family. and friends, assuming the aircraft would crash.
In doing so, the enger confirmed that the era of “Always On” crisis communication for the aviation industry had indeed been transformed!
Aircraft accidents cause great commotion and attract great public interest, especially if they involve fatalities.
Social networks are now a key factor in crisis management. Many crisis incidents are first broadcast via Whatsapp, Twitter or Facebook before the airline, manufacturer or airport itself is aware of it. Cell phones with high resolution cameras are now everywhere where people are and these phones post and transmit images and words through various social media channels to the entire planet. Flight Tracker sites take the challenge even further by tracking flights in real time.
In another example, a Qantas Airbus A380 departing Singapore Changi Airport for Sydney suffered a severe engine fire four minutes after takeoff. Despite the aircraft landing safely 90 minutes later, several news outlets had already reported that it had crashed:
https://www.reuters.com/article/idUSSGE6A305A20101104
This news was based on photos and comments displayed on social media channels minutes after the incident, even showing wreckage of the Qantas brand, reports of an "explosion in the sky" and "multiple impact sites" in Indonesia.
In response to these developments in technology, and numerous “citizen journalists,” the International Air Transport Association, the global organization that represents, leads, and serves the entire airline industry, asserts in its guidelines on crisis communication that an airline that has experienced an incident must issue its first communication, once an accident is reported, within 15 minutes.
The new IATA guidelines (* Crisis communication and reputation management in the digital age: A guide to best practices for the aviation industry) acknowledge that the traditional “Golden Hour” concept, where an airline crisis management team would have the time to activate, assemble, confirm details and finally issue a statement, has now all but disappeared: this has been replaced by the response model “Always On”, which depends on the organization's ability to see, assess and respond to any situation or reputational threat as it develops, in real time. “Social media listening” is therefore a prerequisite for a timely response with the “Golden Hour” now reduced to minutes.
The digital age and the new challenges in aviation. One of the main changes that the internet brought to the reputation and image crises was the fact that the receivers of information (the public) became also creators. The creation of content, which was previously controlled by the mainstream media, is now done by any internet . Once again, it is possible to note the importance that credibility has for the information media, including the digital ones.
Most of the Brazilian aeronautical companies, regardless of the size or importance of their operations, are still not prepared to deal with crisis and image management. Organizations still hope that nothing happens, and when it does, they hand over management responsibility entirely to teams without the necessary knowledge of the aeronautical industry. The digital age has arrived! And it demands an immediate reflection in this sense
Ivan Dilly
Chief Legal Officer & Founder
Ivan Dilly | Advocacy
Aviation | Aerospace | defense
Email: [email protected]
Website: www.dilly.adv.br
