Case Study

Communications

Humanising Disruption Communications

Disruption is an unavoidable reality in air travel - but poor communication doesn’t have to be. When a leading airport group faced a sharp rise in operational disruptions due to weather events, staff shortages, and systems failures, they recognised a crucial gap: Their messaging wasn’t keeping pace with the moment.

TJM Aviation Consulting was brought in to lead the redesign of their disruption communications strategy across terminals, teams, and channels - with one clear objective: Turn confusion and frustration into clarity and calm.

The Challenge

  • Customers were receiving inconsistent or delayed updates during disruption, leading to confusion, crowding, and complaints.

  • Frontline staff were uncertain about what to say - or when - in moments of high pressure.

  • Management lacked a unified tone and structure for briefings, escalation, and internal coordination.

  • Signage, announcements, and digital messaging often conflicted or used outdated language, impacting trust.

Our Role

We worked across the airport group’s terminals, airline partners, and operations teams to create a multi-tiered communication framework grounded in clarity, empathy, and consistency.

1. Customer-Facing Messaging Frameworks

  • Audited every customer touchpoint; from departure boards and app alerts to gate announcements and hold-room signage.

  • Created modular, pre-approved disruption scripts for use in SMS, push notifications, and PA systems.

  • Introduced tone-of-voice guidance designed to reduce stress, increase trust, and align with the group’s passenger experience vision.

  • Recommended new language for signage and queuing guidance, making communication accessible and reassuring - especially for non-native speakers and PRMs.

2. Empowering Frontline Staff

  • Designed “communications playbooks” for gate and terminal teams, including quick-reference escalation guides and scenario-based responses.

  • Delivered briefing templates that helped crew and agents deliver consistent information confidently, even when full details weren’t yet available.

  • Supported the rollout of an updated internal disruption dashboard, giving frontline staff access to the latest information in real time.

3. Leadership & Stakeholder Alignment

  • Created escalation messaging for duty managers and incident leads, allowing for rapid alignment in multi-terminal disruption scenarios.

  • Facilitated workshops with cross-functional leaders to unify tone, responsibilities, and escalation triggers.

  • Developed on-brand leadership templates to support coordinated press and stakeholder updates during major disruption events.

Results

  • Complaint volume decreased during disruption periods within the first quarter of rollout.

  • Customer feedback showed an improvement in perceived clarity and helpfulness of airport messaging.

  • Staff confidence in managing communication rose, based on post-training surveys and live feedback.

  • Reduced repeat queries and confusion, thanks to consistent messages across announcements, screens, and agents.

  • Strengthened trust between airport, airlines, and customers - turning disruption into a moment of measured response, not brand damage.

Why It Matters

Delays and disruption may be beyond your control - but how you communicate during them is always within your power.

At TJM Aviation Consulting, we help aviation and travel brands turn difficult moments into trust-building opportunities. By empowering teams, aligning tone, and focusing on the human behind every message, we help reduce complaints, support staff, and keep your brand’s voice calm and clear - when it matters most.

Because in disruption, clarity isn’t a luxury - it’s essential.