The incident, which cost the lives of 33 Tui customers out of the 38 killed, took place three weeks after Longman had been appointed to the top job.
Speaking at the second Tomorrow’s Travel Leaders Conference, Longman explained how he split his workforce into two, forming a dedicated crisis division and asking the remainder to focus on business as usual.
Longman said a visit to the airport with joint chief executive Peter Long to meet the first repatriation flight was a timely reminder of the duty of care they had to all their customers.
“We met people coming off the flight… it was emotional. Then we looked around the airport and we saw that people were still going on holiday, and we knew we had a duty to them as well.”
There were moments during the first response when Longman said he isolated himself to gather his thoughts: “It’s the metaphorical sitting in a dark room with a wet towel around your head. I would go outside alone, deconstruct the problem, build it back up, then come back in and be decisive.”
He was inspired in his decisive decision-making by Peter Long’s handling of the September 11 crisis. “Be decisive,” he encouraged delegates. “People respect you when you make decisions. You may not always get it right, but it’s better than doing nothing.”
He said the only way to prepare for an incident of the magnitude of Tunisia was to surround yourself with good people: “We took advice from a company who knew what to do in that situation.”
He also discussed the ethical dilemma of pulling out of Tunisia, knowing the impact that would have on local livelihoods.
“We knew that if we significantly reduced our programme, hotels would be shut and we have a responsibility as a business to operate in destinations where we can help. But we have to balance that with the primary care of our customers, and we’re very clear that we follow government advice. Safety must come first.”
