My wife Samantha and I arrived at the Albuquerque (ABQ) airport several hours early today. The idea was to check in our bags and then go find a place to have a nice lunch together; we were traveling to different destinations and wouldn’t see each other for several weeks. Check in went smoothly, but as we walked towards the escalator the to TSA check-in, I immediately sensed something was up. The lobby was jammed full of people, and no one was going up the escalators—some people told us there had been an incident in the concourse, and no one was being allowed up through security. We weaved through the mass of people to find restrooms, which were in an area adjacent to the escalators. I noticed a sign next to a staircase that indicated you could reach the concourse through them. I figured this would all blow over quickly and if we just waited near these steps, we could avoid the crowds heading towards the security checkpoint. So, we waited.
We waited and waited some more, and after about 45 minutes, a TSA representative came and made an announcement that he didn’t know when the security checkpoint would be opened. “It could be hours,” he said. He recommended people go find a comfortable place to sit instead of standing around, and that all flights had been canceled.
That last bit was both useful and confusing. What did he mean by all flights? All flights waiting to depart up to that point? All flights scheduled for today? As you can imagine, this was not well received by those in the lobby area—many of them had been waiting for well over an hour before we arrived. Since I am a frequent flyer, and to check the veracity of the TSA statement, I immediately called Delta to find out what Samantha’s options were for her flight departing in 1.5 hours. A very helpful Delta rep told me that based on their information, there was no change in the Delta flight to Atlanta. She further instructed me that while TSA could hold up the security checkpoint, they had no control over flights departing or landing. So I got the information on flights that would leave ABQ the next day. I was then in the process of looking at flights from nearby airports and rental cars when an announcement over the intercom stated that flights were delayed, not canceled.
While this brought hope, there was no way to ascertain whether this information was more accurate than the TSA announcement. My confirmation bias kicked in and said, “No need to look for alternatives. All of the earlier flights are still here, and there are planes stacked up everywhere. So, once they reopen security, everything will fly out as scheduled, just 3 hours later all around.” My theory was confirmed when I looked out a window and saw planes from multiple carriers parked out on the tarmac. We waited again—after about a total of 2 hours, a police officer came to where we were waiting and announced TSA would open the security checkpoint in 30 minutes.
Based on our original flight times, it would be tight, but doable. Samantha and I discussed whether we should let the mass of people move through security or go to the restaurant upstairs—the assumption being all flights would be delayed and we would have hours to wait. But, all the data pointed to our flights staying on schedule. The flight information boards still showed the original times, as did our mobile flight apps. However, the biggest issue I felt was that all airlines count on planes flying from point A to point B, and there are people waiting at point B to get to point C—delaying all the flights would exacerbate the problem across the entire system. So, using logical thinking and accessing data points allowed me to overcome my confirmation bias, and we decided when security opened, we’d head straight there. Due to our location near the staircase, we were one of the first 100 people to get to security. We made it through easily and even had time to grab a bite to eat to carry on with us.
Most interestingly, my gate at Southwest made an announcement that all the flights waiting when the security shutdown occurred had left, and were instructed to do so by TSA. I thought, “TSA didn’t have the capability to do that, according to Delta. Were ‘all flights’ canceled per the TSA officers instruction?” No—I am sure some people that had flights later in the day left the airport given that TSA announced, “all flights canceled.” At the end of the day, it all worked out great for Samantha and me.
Inside the concourse, the entire central area was cordoned off and thick brown paper had been hung to block it off from view (we later learned that a suicide attempt had been the cause of the shutdown, and that the individual had jumped from an observation deck, injuring themselves). We made our flights and got home safely, but it did get me thinking about communication, particularly in a crisis situation. It is easy to relay false and misleading information in a moment of panic. We must condition ourselves to be ready to deliver accurate, timely and relevant information to all stakeholders, especially when we are under stress.
What is your communication plan for a disaster or incident? Have all applicable staff been instructed on how, when, and by whom information will be given out? Thinking through scenarios in advance and carefully planning a communication strategy can allow your organization to be prepared for an emergency event. Trust me, it will be time well spent.