MSP Airport’s ‘Travel Confidently’ Program Helps Assure Travelers
Like many of our airport peers, Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport (MSP) quickly adopted a series of safety measures – now under the umbrella brand of Travel Confidently – when the coronavirus pandemic began to curtail air travel in March, including:
Ramped up cleaning of all public areas by our a COVID-19 response team.
Overnight electrostatic fogging in terminal public spaces.
Physical-distancing controls, including floor decals, seat blockers and other signage to remind everyone to keep at least six-feet apart.
Requiring everyone to wear face coverings in airport public spaces.
Constructing more than 200 shield guards at common-use ticket counters, gate desks, gate podiums, TSA checkpoints, information booths and other locations.
Placing about 130 hand sanitizer stations throughout Terminals 1 & 2.
Encouraging travelers to pre-book parking, which allows customers to access QR codes from their smart phone to gain touchless entry and exit from MSP’s parking ramps.
Distributing free "customer care kits" – which include a face covering and hand sanitizer – available at MSP information booths.
Communicating with travelers about what we’re doing to keep them safe is critical. A key objective of MSP’s “Travel Confidently” program is to be very visible – from door wraps and banners, to stanchion belts and floor stickers, to digital signage throughout the airport – so that travelers feel safe.
Other communication methods include a 60-second Travel Confidently video that highlights key aspects of the program in an engaging fashion. This video and other messages have been shared on our social media channels and on MSP’s Travel Confidently webpage, which contains everything a traveler needs to know about traveling through MSP during the pandemic. We also leveraged our e-news platform to provide updates to travelers, the surrounding community and key stakeholders.
But perhaps most important is the very deliberate and prescriptive way we engaged and trained employees and others who are responsible for customer care at MSP.
The Metropolitan Airports Commission (MAC), which owns and operates MSP, implemented the following:
First, in March, the MAC created the COVID-19 Response Portal to help keep employees informed about how the MAC was responding both internally and externally to the pandemic. Everything from Human Resources policy updates, to how long to wash one’s hands and how to disinfect portable two-way radios was included. The site also contains in-depth FAQs on a variety of COVID-related topics and helpful links to outside organizations, like the Centers for Disease Control.
Second, the MAC published a COVID-19 Preparedness Plan, which outlined the steps the MAC was taking to help prevent the contracting or spreading of COVID-19 among MAC employees, as well as directing employees on procedures they should follow for doing the same.
Third, the MAC held a virtual town hall – attended by nearly a third of the staff – to answer questions about the Preparedness Plan. The session was also recorded and posted on the MAC’s employee portals so more employees could listen to it and view the presentation.
Fourth, the MAC created a Travel Confidently Playbook that provides guidance for businesses and other organizations at MSP for how to protect employees and travelers from COVID-19. Providing a consistent and unified safety message throughout MSP helps assure travelers that safety is our No. 1 concern.
Finally, the MAC regularly communicated with MAC and MSP staff. In the first few months of the pandemic, the MAC’s executive director and CEO sent weekly, detailed updates about what was happening at the MAC and MSP. Similarly, the MAC’s Concessions and Business Development team began holding weekly – rather than monthly – meetings with concession tenants to ensure a timely exchange of information during both the closures and eventual reopening of restaurants and retail stores at MSP.
Communication with employees, airport vendors and stakeholders, and our travelers remains key to the airport’s recovery efforts. It is only through working together with our partners that MSP can position itself to rebound from this unprecedented time in the history of air travel.