How Miami Int’l Airport kept travelers informed during gov’t shutdown

Last January, the federal government shut down over a budget impasse, greatly hampering  operations at airports nationwide.

Many federal employees were not reporting to work, closing one security checkpoint at Miami International Airport (MIA) and causing long lines at other checkpoints and long wait times for passengers entering the country.

To deal with the chaos, the communications team at MIA created a video in English and Spanish that would be displayed at the busiest security checkpoints, along with other informational tools. The team’s efforts have won first place in the “Personalized Content Marketing Strategy” category of PR Daily’s Content Marketing Awards.

Passengers’ needs were carefully studied as soon as MIA started to feel the effects of the federal funding lapse. The video was created with key messages that would prepare passengers for security procedures and expedite the longer than usual checkpoint lines. A positive message was strategically added to the end of the video reminding frustrated passengers to be polite and smile.

For MIA’s social media channels, a travel tip infographic was generated and pinned to the top of Twitter and Facebook feeds. For Instagram, a story with the travel tips was generated and pinned to a highlight.

The security checkpoint videos helped passengers prepare for the TSA process as they waited in line. During the week of Jan. 18–25, 2019, the videos were seen by an average of 854,515 passengers. The social media efforts had similarly impressive results.

Congratulations to Arlyn Rull, Greg Chin, Cristina Armand, Mailyn Mundy, Daniella Winch, Richard Etienne and Jack Varela.