Crisis Team Fortunately accidents do not happen very often in our industry, but the fact remains that they do occur and when they do it can be a traumatic time for the staff. Many of the airlines represented in Sweden have a small staff and may initially need assistance that does not conflict with, or replace, the existing carriers own emergency procedures. The BARIS Crisis Support Team was created to act as a support function between the head office and the local operation. The team is made up of eight members and meets on a regular basis to continue to develop ways to be of help to BARIS members and their staff. BARIS CRISIS SUPPORT TEAM - ACTION PLAN 1.   The team will act as a support function in between the head office and the        local operation. It will not act as a representative of any specific carrier and        will not carry out any duties that are in conflict with, or interfere with the carriers      own emergency plans. 2.   The Team will support General Sales Agents (GSA) with contacts and a        list of people at various Swedish authorities. 3.   The Team will provide moral support to the local staff. All matters will be        completely confidential and may not be discussed or divulged to anyone        outside of the Team. 4.   The Team will compile a list of all BARIS members with their emergency        response readiness. POSSIBLE SCENARIO The following is a possible scenario where the team can assist you. An airline office, or GSA, in Stockholm has three employees. Their airline has a fatal accident outside of Sweden with some Swedish and/or Nordic citizens onboard. According to the airlines own Emergency Plan the manager is contacted by the head office (are you familiar with your own airlines' emergency plans, if it is current and where it is kept?) and given the initial information. This could possibly happend in the middle of the night and the head office may be in another continent with a significant time difference. Seconds after the manager has been informed the local and international news media, the foreign office and of course, relatives, friends and curiosity seekers will begin beleaguering the local office. This scenario is based on reality and could very well happen to any one of us. Imagine yourself in this situation where you are the one who has to deal with all of the above. You might even be on your own as the other staff may be on vacation or on sick leave. Irrespective of your local set up, instructions from the airlines' head office where you are not supposed to take any action, this is not always realistic. Circumstances do not always allow you to wait for someone from the head office to come to your assistance. Experience shows that it is the initial reacton and handling of the situation that is vital for the reputation of your airline. This is where the Crisis Team can and will come in and assist until such time as your head office has been able to send its own staff. There is always the possibility that they may not deem it necessary if the accident site is not within Scandinavia. We can, for example: *   Relieve and assisst with incomming telephone calls in compliance with the airlines'           policy. *   Relieve staff with practical needs such as delivery of food, refreshments, freeing           them for other duties. *   Assist with any other practical services that may be needed, however small and           impractical they may seem. *   Assist wth arrangements such as bookings for hotels, taxis, rental cars, busses,            conference rooms. *   Assistance with travel arrangements for next-of-kin. *   Contact all local religious communities, psychologists, Red Cross and other aid            organizations. We have establshed contacts with all of these groups. *   Debriefing and personal support to you and your staff. This can easily be            forgotten in this stressful situation. Studies show that many employees suffer            from emotional stress, confusion, depression and agony if they do not receive            immediate moral and psychological support. Whatever the Team helps you with it will be treated with the utmost confidence. No request, however senstive or minor, will be turned down. Our foremost goal is to reduce negative effects on the individual. The individuals are you, your staff as well as your organization. The BARIS Crisis Team members have all had various experiences and training in emergency situations. Together we have first hand experience in dealing with the trauma following a fatal accident. Members have been, or are presently, part of their own airlines' care teams and have dealt with media, next of kin, survivors, co-workers and the aftermath of problems and emotions. CRISIS SUPPORT TEAM - CONTACT LIST Christina Catlin         +46-70 997 2569   and/or   +46-8-766 1542 Annika Brune            +46-768 510 009   and/or   +46-8-747 8544 Mats Dahl                  +46-708 444 855  and/or   +46-8-758 0959 Helena Pohjaranta-             Erikson         +46-708 26 27 92   and/or   +46-8-10 55 94 Robin Schoug            +46-70 2515 474  and/or   +46-8-707 9238 Victoria Zvereva         +46-708 279 240   and/or    +46-8-27 92 95   Home | About BARIS | Crisis Team | Members | Links | Press | Job Opportunities |