IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jsusta/v14y2022i7p4040-d782256.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Recovering from a Major Aviation Disaster: The Airlines’ Family Assistance Centre

Author

Listed:
  • Loraine Brown

    (Business School, Glasnevin Campus, Dublin City University, D09 Dublin, Ireland)

  • Marina Efthymiou

    (Business School, Glasnevin Campus, Dublin City University, D09 Dublin, Ireland)

  • Caroline McMullan

    (Business School, Glasnevin Campus, Dublin City University, D09 Dublin, Ireland)

Abstract

An aviation disaster with mass fatalities can overwhelm an organisation and impact the lives of thousands. The response to such crises can determine the future of the organisation and, more importantly, it can have a lasting effect on the victims’ friends and families. This paper identifies and analyses airlines’ legal requirements and duty of care in relation to the operation of a family assistance centre (FAC). The case study of flight MH370 was used, and interviews with key figures in the aviation industry who have experienced disaster first-hand were conducted. The study highlighted that subtle differences in response significantly impact the quality of care provided. The research also outlined the importance of training and preparedness. Choosing the right people to work in the FACs and to care for friends and families is integral. The study concluded that the speed and accuracy of communication with friends and family are critical factors in the success of any response.

Suggested Citation

  • Loraine Brown & Marina Efthymiou & Caroline McMullan, 2022. "Recovering from a Major Aviation Disaster: The Airlines’ Family Assistance Centre," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(7), pages 1-16, March.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:14:y:2022:i:7:p:4040-:d:782256
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/14/7/4040/pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/14/7/4040/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Akyildirim, Erdinc & Corbet, Shaen & Efthymiou, Marina & Guiomard, Cathal & O'Connell, John F. & Sensoy, Ahmet, 2020. "The financial market effects of international aviation disasters," International Review of Financial Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 69(C).
    2. Efthymiou, Marina & Usher, David & O'Connell, John F. & Warnock-Smith, David & Conyngham, Gerry, 2021. "The factors influencing entry level airline pilot retention: An empirical study of Ryanair," Journal of Air Transport Management, Elsevier, vol. 91(C).
    3. Marina Efthymiou & Katie McCarthy & Chris Markou & John F. O’Connell, 2022. "An Exploratory Research on Blockchain in Aviation: The Case of Maintenance, Repair and Overhaul (MRO) Organizations," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(5), pages 1-17, February.
    4. Hätty, Holger & Hollmeier, Sebastian, 2003. "Airline strategy in the 2001/2002 crisis—the Lufthansa example," Journal of Air Transport Management, Elsevier, vol. 9(1), pages 51-55.
    5. O'Connell, John F. & Avellana, Raquel Martinez & Warnock-Smith, David & Efthymiou, Marina, 2020. "Evaluating drivers of profitability for airlines in Latin America: A case study of Copa Airlines," Journal of Air Transport Management, Elsevier, vol. 84(C).
    6. Corbet, Shaen & Efthymiou, Marina & Lucey, Brian & O'Connell, John F., 2021. "When lightning strikes twice: The tragedy-induced demise and attempted corporate resuscitation of Malaysia airlines," Annals of Tourism Research, Elsevier, vol. 87(C).
    7. Corbet, Shaen & O’Connell, John F. & Efthymiou, Marina & Guiomard, Cathal & Lucey, Brian, 2019. "The impact of terrorism on European tourism," Annals of Tourism Research, Elsevier, vol. 75(C), pages 1-17.
    8. Grundy, Michael & Moxon, Richard, 2013. "The effectiveness of airline crisis management on brand protection: A case study of British Airways," Journal of Air Transport Management, Elsevier, vol. 28(C), pages 55-61.
    9. Warnock-Smith, David & Graham, Anne & O'Connell, John F. & Efthymiou, Marina, 2021. "Impact of COVID-19 on air transport passenger markets: Examining evidence from the Chinese market," Journal of Air Transport Management, Elsevier, vol. 94(C).
    10. Chang, Yu-Hern & Yeh, Chung-Hsing & Wu, Pei-Syuan, 2018. "Evaluating airline crisis management performance: The cases of flights GE222 and GE235 crash accidents," Journal of Air Transport Management, Elsevier, vol. 70(C), pages 62-72.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Anne Graham & David Warnock-Smith & John F. O’Connell & Marina Efthymiou & Xingwu Zheng, 2023. "Market Developments on Chinese International Air Passenger Markets in Light of COVID-19 Policy Measures," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(2), pages 1-24, January.
    2. Hsiu-Ying Kao, Grace & Wang, Stephen W. & Farquhar, Jillian Dawes, 2020. "Modeling Airline Crisis Management Capability: Brand attitude, brand credibility and intention," Journal of Air Transport Management, Elsevier, vol. 89(C).
    3. Warnock-Smith, David & Graham, Anne & O'Connell, John F. & Efthymiou, Marina, 2021. "Impact of COVID-19 on air transport passenger markets: Examining evidence from the Chinese market," Journal of Air Transport Management, Elsevier, vol. 94(C).
    4. Marina Efthymiou & Katie McCarthy & Chris Markou & John F. O’Connell, 2022. "An Exploratory Research on Blockchain in Aviation: The Case of Maintenance, Repair and Overhaul (MRO) Organizations," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(5), pages 1-17, February.
    5. Foong, Jia Jun & O'Connell, John Francis & Warnock-Smith, David & Efthymiou, Marina, 2023. "A product and organisational architecture analysis of the performance of Southeast Asian airlines," Journal of Air Transport Management, Elsevier, vol. 107(C).
    6. Hiney, Noel & Efthymiou, Marina & Morgenroth, Edgar, 2023. "Impact of Covid-19 on Irish airport stakeholder relationships," Annals of Tourism Research, Elsevier, vol. 102(C).
    7. Collings, David & Corbet, Shaen & Hou, Yang (Greg) & Hu, Yang & Larkin, Charles & Oxley, Les, 2022. "The effects of negative reputational contagion on international airlines: The case of the Boeing 737-MAX disasters," International Review of Financial Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 80(C).
    8. Hu, Yang & Lang, Chunlin & Corbet, Shaen & Wang, Junchuan, 2024. "The impact of COVID-19 on the volatility connectedness of the Chinese tourism sector," Research in International Business and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 68(C).
    9. Lambeth, Daniel & Lei, Zheng & Cheung, Tommy, 2022. "Airline pilot remuneration: A conceptual framework and empirical analysis of airlines in Australia," Transport Policy, Elsevier, vol. 126(C), pages 34-42.
    10. Soliman, Amr & O’Connell, John Frankie & Tamaddoni-Nezhad, Alireza, 2022. "A data-driven approach for characterising revenues of South-Asian long-haul low-cost carriers per equivalent flight capacity per block hour," Journal of Air Transport Management, Elsevier, vol. 103(C).
    11. Akyildirim, Erdinc & Corbet, Shaen & O'Connell, John F. & Sensoy, Ahmet, 2021. "The influence of aviation disasters on engine manufacturers: An analysis of financial and reputational contagion risks," International Review of Financial Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 74(C).
    12. Corbet, Shaen & Hou, Yang & Hu, Yang & Oxley, Les, 2022. "Did COVID-19 tourism sector supports alleviate investor fear?," Annals of Tourism Research, Elsevier, vol. 95(C).
    13. Corbet, Shaen & Hou, Yang (Greg) & Hu, Yang & Oxley, Les & Xu, Danyang, 2021. "Pandemic-related financial market volatility spillovers: Evidence from the Chinese COVID-19 epicentre," International Review of Economics & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 71(C), pages 55-81.
    14. Tamat Sarmidi & Norlin Khalid & Muhamad Rias K. V. Zainuddin & Sufian Jusoh, 2021. "The COVID-19 Pandemic, Air Transport Perturbation, and Sector Impacts in ASEAN Plus Five: A Multiregional Input–Output Inoperability Analysis," Working Papers DP-2021-01, Economic Research Institute for ASEAN and East Asia (ERIA).
    15. Corbet, Shaen & Larkin, Charles & Lucey, Brian, 2020. "The contagion effects of the COVID-19 pandemic: Evidence from gold and cryptocurrencies," Finance Research Letters, Elsevier, vol. 35(C).
    16. Hu, Yue & Dai, Liang & Fuellhart, Kurt & Witlox, Frank, 2024. "Examining competition among airline regarding route portfolios at domestic hubs under government regulation: The case of China's aviation market," Journal of Air Transport Management, Elsevier, vol. 116(C).
    17. Dobruszkes, Frédéric & Van Hamme, Gilles, 2011. "The impact of the current economic crisis on the geography of air traffic volumes: an empirical analysis," Journal of Transport Geography, Elsevier, vol. 19(6), pages 1387-1398.
    18. Warnock-Smith, David & Christidis, Panayotis, 2021. "European Union-Latin America/Caribbean air transport connectivity and competitiveness in different air policy contexts," Journal of Transport Geography, Elsevier, vol. 92(C).
    19. Sierk Horn & Tomoki Sekiguchi & Matthias Weiss, 2021. "Thrown off track? Adjustments of Asian business to shock events," Asian Business & Management, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 20(4), pages 435-455, September.
    20. Charfeddine, Lanouar & Al Refai, Hisham, 2019. "Political tensions, stock market dependence and volatility spillover: Evidence from the recent intra-GCC crises," The North American Journal of Economics and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 50(C).

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:14:y:2022:i:7:p:4040-:d:782256. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: MDPI Indexing Manager (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.mdpi.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.