Lessons Learned From Aviation Crisis Management

How One Airline Expanded Its Vision of Disaster Response

Joe DesPlaines

BUSINESS CONTINUITY/ EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT

BUSINESS CONTINUITY/ EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT Frontier Airlines Flights per Day = 350
1 flight : 4 minutes in business day

Monthly Passenger Volume = 1 million + DOT Major Airline status Regulated by FAA, DOT, NTSB, DOS, DHS, etc. Annual Business Continuity cost = ~$10.2 million
Risk Management including Safety, Security, Regulatory Compliance, Emergency Management, etc.
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BUSINESS CONTINUITY/ EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT TODAYS AGENDA

Why are airlines so good at crisis management ? What are lessons learned from mass casualty crisis management? What is Frontier Airlines process to build its Business Continuity & Emergency Management Plan? Is Business Continuity organized common sense? Questions?
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BUSINESS CONTINUITY/ EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT

BASIC ASSUMPTIONS

Every crisis is different The plan is not a recipe Goal = Reducing risk vulnerability

BUSINESS CONTINUITY/ EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT

Because sometimes bad things happen to an airline on the ground

BUSINESS CONTINUITY/ EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT

Because sometimes bad things happen to an airline in the air

BUSINESS CONTINUITY/ EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT

Air travel is still the safest means of transportation*

Automobile accidents U.S. 2006 41,000 fatalities 3,000+ in 15-passenger vans Commercial aviation accidents - 2006 49 fatalities

*National Transportation Safety Board statistics

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BUSINESS CONTINUITY/ EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT EXPANDED VISION

Comprehensive Aviation Emergency Management Plan: Aircraft accident response National Transportation Safety Board Component drills and full scale exercises conducted on a regular basis Plan constantly updated Company Position evaluated due to recent issues Business interruption preparation Expanded vision of disaster response
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BUSINESS CONTINUITY/ EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT EXPANDED VISION

Recent Natural Disasters Technological Interruptions at Other Airlines Audit Committee Identifies Risk Exposure Lessons Learned From Critical Events

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BUSINESS CONTINUITY/ EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT Lessons Learned

Lessons learned from the response to: - Mass fatality aviation events - Terrorist acts - Severe weather events - Technological failures Contributions by: - Aviation safety experts - Law enforcement and federal regulators - Business continuity and risk managers - Behavioral health experts - IT professionals

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BUSINESS CONTINUITY/ EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT 10 Lessons Learned

1. Assessment is first, planning is second.

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BUSINESS CONTINUITY/ EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT 10 Lessons Learned

2. The plan should be a roadmap from chaos to control

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BUSINESS CONTINUITY/ EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT 10 Lessons Learned

3. The plan is worthless without training, lots of training.

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BUSINESS CONTINUITY/ EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT 10 Lessons Learned

4. The plan must be tested, and tested, and tested

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BUSINESS CONTINUITY/ EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT 10 Lessons Learned

5. Mass casualty means mass media coverage.

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BUSINESS CONTINUITY/ EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT 10 Lessons Learned

6. The public expects an organization to demonstrate support and compassion to survivors, survivor families, and victim families following a crisis.

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BUSINESS CONTINUITY/ EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT 10 Lessons Learned

7. A large number of telephone inquiries will occur in the hours and days immediately following a mass fatality crisis, easily reaching hundreds of calls per hour.

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BUSINESS CONTINUITY/ EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT 10 Lessons Learned

8. In the eyes of: the media, public, and elected officials, providing victim, family and employee care and assistance is as important as finding the cause of the disaster.
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BUSINESS CONTINUITY/ EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT 10 Lessons Learned

9. Disaster recovery is different from Business Continuity.

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BUSINESS CONTINUITY/ EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT 10 Lessons Learned

10. Business Continuity and Emergency Management Plans are never finished and need constant attention.

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BUSINESS CONTINUITY/ EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT DEVELOPMENT PROCESS 1. Create a Business Continuity Planning Team 2. Establish a Risk Management Environment 3. Conduct a Business Impact Analysis 4. Develop/Document Risk Mitigation Strategies 5. Develop Business Continuity Plans 6. Conduct Business Continuity Plan Training and Testing 7. Create a Business Continuity Plan Maintenance System

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BUSINESS CONTINUITY/ EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT

TODAYS AGENDA

Why are airlines so good at crisis management ? What are lessons learned from mass fatality crisis management? What is Frontier Airlines process to build its Business Continuity & Emergency Management Plan? Is Business Continuity organized common sense?

Questions?
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BUSINESS CONTINUITY/ EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT

Because, sometimes bad things happen

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