Who You Gonna Call?
When a crisis occurs at a commercial
airport, how do officials communicate quickly and efficiently with
emergency response teams, reporters, regulators and the public? The
Manahan Group (TMG), a Charleston (WV) advertising and public
relations firm and its web development partner, www.e-commatrix.com,
have come up with a new online communications system --
AirAlert™ -- that it says will revolutionize crisis response
at airports in the US, Canada, England and Mexico.
"AirAlert™ is designed so that one airport employee can
manage a streamlined communications system during a crisis," said
George Manahan, CEO of The Manahan Group. Manahan spoke to
participants at the 4th International Symposium on Aviation
Emergencies in Weehawken (NJ).
AirAlert™ is a powerful web-based communications solution
for airports, enabling managers to quickly communicate important
information to multiple audiences simultaneously.
"AirAlert™ provides reporters, travelers, citizens and
government regulators with comprehensive, up-to-the-minute airport
information," said Albert Iannantuono, president and CEO of www.e-commatrix.com.
"In a crisis, AirAlert™ becomes a single, trustworthy source
and point of contact - freeing managers to address the situation at
hand."
The beta version of AirAlert™ was recently developed and
delivered to Yeager Airport in Charleston (WV) and is now available
to airports in the US, UK, Canada and Mexico. In the US, airports
can be reimbursed for up to 90 percent of AirAlert's™ cost
through the Federal Aviation Administration Airport Improvement
Program (A.I.P.).
Manahan said the AirAlert™ system is designed to send
anyone seeking information regarding the airport emergency to a
crisis-specific web site. The goal of the product is to free up
communication manager(s) from constant phone calls and requests for
duplicative information. Once the response is posted on the web
site, everyone, including reporters, travelers and regulators, has
the ability to access it.
The AirAlert™ system will allow airport managers to:
- Immediately contact the airport's emergency operations team
through just about any communication device, including: pager, text
messaging, e-mail, PDA or telephone;
- Allow the airport's Emergency Operations Committee members to
securely communicate with each other during a crisis;
- Send e-Alerts detailing the incident and any updates to pre-
established lists of internal and external audiences; and
- Manage an airport-specific web site where reporters, travelers,
citizens and others can access the latest information during the
crisis.
"Today, airports must be able to communicate with many different
groups fast and efficiently," said Yeager Airport Director Rick
Atkinson. "The AirAlert™ system is the first product I've
seen that accomplishes all of the communication goals of
airports."