Airport promotes Passenger excellence through staff training.
The Sierra Leone Airports Authority is ensuring that both its staff and personnel attached to the different agencies operating at the airport are trained to understand the specific requirements and operating procedures of an airport environment.
One of such trainings, titled 'Unruly passenger Prevention and Response' was conducted on the 26th and 27th November 2020 at the Freetown International Airport. The objective of the training was to leave no airport worker behind in relation to passenger needs for every given situation. The development of a passenger satisfaction drive stems from the fact that the Freetown international Airport wants its working population to acquire the necessary skills and increase their value and success as Airport professionals.
The Sierra Leone Civil Aviation Authority and the Sierra Leone Airports Authority with Support from the International Organization developed the in-house training content for Migration.
The training captured 90 participants and provided ground staff knowledge and methodologies of descalating passenger unruly behaivours, providing post incident care and resolving issues on non compliance to Airport Public Health requirements. The level of training also fits the complexities that can be heightened during festive periods like non arrival of baggage and VIP Airports receptions.
It summarises the recommended areas that personnel must successfully implement professionalism and calmness. Targeted Airport Agencies were Immigration, Customs, Port Health, Checking Passenger Services, Airline representatives, Airline Profiling Services, Customer Services, Securiport, Aviation Security, Police and RSLAF who immensely benefitted from the two day training sessions.
Speaking during the opening session of the training, the General Manager of the Sierra Leone Airports Authority Mr. Jack D.K Massaquoi maintained that apart from the initial required competencies of staff, there must be regular recurrent trainings to maintain and update personnel skills. “We always design our end of year activities to have agency lead teams assess, obtain and refine their leadership skills so as to provide greater levels of service to our Airlines and Passengers. The unruly passenger training, prevention and response consist of best practice models and a myriad of core leadership traits for agencies dealing with terminal incidents that falls under this category. We are hopeful to serve our travelling public diligently and with a strong focus on passenger welfare at our Airport”.
Ms Mallay Betty Braima, Airport training Facilitator noted that addressing such issues especially staff roles in mitigating and calming these situations is crucial. She disclosed that the training will provide techniques to calm unruly behavior in its early stages and give multiple opportunities for our staff to develop their skills through role play exercises. "If we want our Airport brand and customer service to reflect in all circumstances, we must understand what triggers passenger aggression and the several forms it can take".
Mr. Kugbei Tucker Acting Aviation Security Director and his team from the SLCAA provided the much needed Aviation security controls and consumer protection policies that operational Airport staff must be guided in. “As an industry, a well balanced training and personnel development will enhance our reputation and enable us pass our Audits. Alerting and referring issues for Security command and control is one of the security cultures we must build in the Airport community".
