Every airline should have a thoroughly prepared disaster plan. They need to know exactly who will do what in the unhappy event of a crash. From time to time, airlines will go through a full-scale exercise to make sure their planning is as near perfect as can be.
Oman Air are fairly new to longhaul flying and are facing a steep learning curve. In September, they had a two-day conference for their staff to cover the essentials of the company’s disaster plan. They followed this in November with a full-scale exercise which involved one of their aircraft being parked (or “crashed”) in a remote area of Muscat Airport. Naturally, this exercise involved all parts of the airline including their Press and PR people who helpfully produced a page on their website to give details of the crash, numbers of dead and injured, phone numbers to call and a message of condolence.
All very professional. Except, it was maybe a little unwise to put the page on to the company’s live website. Whilst it was headed “Exercise”, it was picked up by locals who thought there had been a real accident and jammed the company’s switchboard and local radio stations until the truth emerged.
The story got into The Gulf News and other media in the region who all enjoyed having a laugh at the expense of their rather sleepy neighbour.
We have a soft spot for Oman Air who are a refreshing change from the big airlines in the region but this incident does make them look a little amateurish.
The “Exercise” page has been removed from Oman Air’s website now but you should still be able to see a copy at muscatjetdriver.blogspot.com.
