Returning your airport to normal operations safely, efficiently, and in a timely fashion is critical to a successful response. The recovery phase of emergency response initiates after the incident, and it includes activities such as communications through SM to aid in the return to normal operations.

We recommend the following uses of the four SM management functions in the Recovery phase.

Listening During Recovery

Use #1: Listen in on public SM channels for chatter regarding how airport users viewed airport EM procedures that they experienced during the emergency event. This information can help you gauge any gaps in recovery efforts as you look for unresolved issues or for things that may delay or complicate the recovery process.

Use #2: Listen in on public or private SM channels for chatter regarding how internal and external stakeholders viewed airport EM procedures during the emergency event. This is especially helpful during post-incident debriefings to improve plans.

Engagement During Recovery

Use #1: Following your listening efforts, engage with airport users on public SM channels regarding how they viewed airport EM response. This engagement can help you gather more detailed information to provide direction for various recovery efforts.

Use #2: Engage with internal and/or external stakeholders on public or private SM channels regarding how they viewed airport EM procedures during the emergency event. You can further engage with these stakeholders through private messaging to provide updates on your recovery efforts and to report issues that have not been resolved.

Publishing During Recovery

Use #1: Publish on public SM channels to update airport users on the event status and recovery status. This includes identifying areas that airport users may want to avoid and sharing efforts in which users can engage to help with recovery.

Use #2: Publish on public and private SM channels to request feedback regarding how users viewed airport EM procedures that they experienced during the emergency event. You can use these opportunities to improve future responses and identify any gaps in communications.

Reporting During Recovery

Use #1: Report (organize and distribute) to appropriate stakeholders on the results of the listening, engagement, and/or publishing efforts noted above, along with the efforts employed during the emergency itself. Specific, objective data can provide a great basis for improving or expanding your use of an SMEM program.

Each airport and the associated stakeholder/community can use SM to complement existing EM and response activities to continue to improve. Although this step provided just a few examples of SM uses, there are potentially many more uses you will uncover.

With many of these uses, it's fairly easy to see potential benefits, and perhaps just as easy to see potential challenges. But for a comprehensive look at these benefits and challenges, continue on to Steps 3 and 4.