MEET AND GREET AFTER ACTION REPORT Table of Contents 1. Overview... 3 1.1. Functional Goal... 3... 3... 3 1.2. Summary of Activity... 3... 3... 4 1.3. Dates of Operation... 4... 4... 5 2. Structure... 5 2.1. GOC Structure... 5... 5... 5 2.2. Venue Structure... 6... 6... 6 3. Scope & Description of Operations... 6 3.1. Scope... 6... 12... 12 4. Policies & Procedures... 12
4.1. Policies... 12... 12... 12 4.2. Procedures... 12... 12... 13 5. Timeline... 13 5.1. Milestone Summary... 13... 13... 13 6. Budget... 13 6.1. Budget Information... 13... 13... 14 6.2. Forms... 14... 14... 14
1. Overview 1.1. Functional Goal To provide the best arriving and departing experience for Special Olympics World Summer Games official delegates at Belfast, Dublin and Shannon Airport Thus ensuring that a Cead Mile Failte is extended to each and every participant The Functional Goal was achieved. Meet and Greet at the Airports was a resounding success Delegates commented on the genuine warm welcome they received on their arrival in Ireland. The positive collaboration of the relevant Airport Authority is vital to the success of a Meet and Greet operation in any Games City. The use of Volunteers who have a working knowledge of the Airport and Airport procedures is a definite advantage. The appointment of a dedicated Liaison person by the Airport Authority to work with Special Olympics personnel for the duration of the operation is a distinct advantage to the operation. 1.2. Summary of Activity Meet and Greet Volunteers will guide official delegates through all 3 Airports from Aircraft to Host Town bus. The M&G volunteers will escort the delegations through Immigration, Customs and transfers to the Delegation Welcome Centre (for accreditation) and on to the Host Town bus. British Midland changed their route from Belfast International Airport to Belfast City Airport early in 2003. This resulted in a number of Delegations flying into Belfast City Airport. The Delegation Welcome Centre with the Accreditation equipment was already agreed and planned for Belfast International Airport and we organised an M&G presence in Belfast City with the plan that if any Delegations required Live Capture for accreditation they were transferred to Belfast International. A great deal of the flight information which we received was in fact proposed travel plans as opposed to confirmed reservations this made the operation a great deal more difficult than it should have been.
The inaccurate and tardy flight information received from the Delegations precluded the 2003 World Games being able to offer support services to the Delegations with transit airports for baggage etc. A dedicated resource solely for flight information. This person to be based within a Travel Company with access to booking systems and flight schedules or direct communication lines into the major Airlines. This person to be in a position to check the flight information received from Delegations for both accuracy in flight numbers, times and dates but also that the Delegations are actually booked on the flights. A strict policy to be implemented regarding both the final dates for the flight information to be received and also the procedures around the requests from Delegations to arrive and depart outside the official Arrival and Departure dates. A single point of contact for Delegations for the above i.e. if a Delegation requests to deviate from the above that one person deal with the Delegation and liaise with the other FAs involved i.e. Transport/Catering/Host Towns/Housing etc this would ensure that the Delegations requests are dealt with promptly and the responsibility rests with one GOC area. 1.3. Dates of Operation Belfast International Airport Arrivals 15 th /16 th June Deps 29 th /30 th June Dublin International Airport Arrivals 15/21 st June Deps 29 th /30 th June Shannon International Airport Arrivals 15 th /16 th June Deps 29 th /30 th June The dates of operation were considerably longer than originally planned.
The original recommendation at the HOD Conference in July 2002 was that Delegations would fly into the Airport closest to their Host Towns and the early planning was based on the arrivals being divided between Belfast Shannon and Dublin. OD HODHOH The majority of the Delegations travelled to Dublin Airport and as a result - Arrivals ran from 14th to the 21st June. -Departures ran from 27th June to the 4th July. While there were arrivals in Belfast and Shannon as well as Dublin there were no Departures from Belfast and just 4 from Shannon. A fulltime resource dedicated to Flight information. 2. Structure 2.1. GOC Structure Director of Int Services Liz Callery General Manager Airport Liaison Caitriona Coakley Meet and Greet Manager Deirdre Gallagher Meet and Greet Co-Coordinator Meet and Greet Co-Coordinator Belfast Dublin Meet and Greet C0-Ordinator - Shannon Structure worked well No recommendations
2.2. Venue Structure Meet and Greet Manager M&G Co- Coordinator Belfast - Team Leaders Assistants M&G Co-Coordinator Dublin - Team Leaders Assistants M&G Co-Coordinator Shannon - Team Leaders Assistants Within the Airports the Airport Authority worked closely with 2003 Special Olympics World Summer Games personnel and this was a major contributor to the Success of the Meet and Greet operation in each Airport. Strong working relationship with the Airport Authorities are essential. 3. Scope & Description of Operations 3.1. Scope Plan, inform and assist in all airport processes for Official Delegates. We will assist all official delegates with Arrivals and Departures at Belfast, Dublin and Shannon Airports. This will include the provision of information regarding recommended port of entry, visa requirements, customs procedures, baggage requirements and airport operation Belfast Airport Delegates will be greeted on landing an escorted through the terminal buildings (passport control and customers) to the Delegation Welcome Centre where the athletes can relax while the HOD and or Head Coaches receives all registration material for his/her group. Baggage will be transferred direction to Host Town buses
Each Delegation will meet their Host Town representative as they board the bus. Dublin Airport Delegates will be greeted on landing and escorted by Meet and Greet volunteers and the DAL through the Terminal Buildings (passport control and customers) to the Bus Lounge in Pier C. This Bus will take the Delegations plus their DAL to the Delegation Welcome Centre in the Great Southern Hotel. Athletes will relax in the Athletes Lounge while their HOD and / or Head Coaches collect their accreditation before being escorted to their Host Town Bus. Baggage will be transferred directly to Host Town bus in the National Show Centre. Each Delegation will meet their host town representative as they board the bus. Shannon Airport Delegates will be greeted on landing by Meet and Greet Volunteers and the DAL and escorted through the Terminal buildings (passport control and customs) to the Delegation Welcome Centre where the athletes can relax while the HOD receives all registration material for his/her group. Baggage will be transferred directly to Host Town buses. Each delegation will meet their host town representative as they board the bus. 3.1.1 Function Provided Meet and Greet Functions To provide a friendly and courteous welcome to each and every delegate. To escort delegates through the Airport terminal buildings to either the Shuttle Bus area or the Delegation Welcome Centre in each of the three designated airports. To assist delegates with general enquiries.
Description of Operations Belfast Airport Arrivals As Delegations arrive into Belfast Airport they will be met at the appropriate Gate by their Meet and Greet Volunteer(s). Family members, if any, will be escorted by designated M & G Volunteers to the baggage claim area. M&G Volunteer will check with the HoD that all his/her group are present and the details held by GOC are correct. The designated Passport and Baggage Tag representatives will hold all the details for the Group (however, in the case of very large groups these may be requested to break into sports and have the coaches for each of these disciplines hold the passports) Group will then be escorted through Customs and Immigration into the Arrivals Hall where they will be met by their DAL. They will then be escorted to the Delegation Welcome Centre. They will be met there by another M&G Volunteer when the HoD and the DAL will go to get all the Registration Details for the Group. When this is completed Delegation will be brought to the Host Town Bus for departure to their Host Town. Baggage will be transferred directly from the aircraft to the carousel where the baggage claimant will claim all luggages on behalf of the group; from here baggage will be loaded onto the host towns. All luggage should be clearly identified with 2003 World Games baggage tags. : Belfast City Airport was also used and a M&G Team worked there, however, any Accreditation issues were dealt with at the Delegation Welcome Centre in Belfast International Airport as agreed. Dublin Airport Arrivals As Delegations arrive they will be met at the appropriate Gate by their Meet and Greet Volunteer(s) and DAL. Family members, if any, will be escorted to the baggage reclaim area. N&G Volunteer will check with the HoD that all his/her group are present and the details held by GOC are correct. The designated Passport and Baggage Tag representatives will hold all the details for the Group (however, in the case of very large groups these may be requested to break into sports and have the coaches for each of these disciplines hold the passports) Group will then be escorted through Customs and Immigration and via the street which links the Piers. As this is the duty free area delegations will not be able to
purchase anything in the shops and will merely use this thoroughfare to get to the Bus Lounge in Pier C. They will then be escorted to the Shuttle Bus Area and board the bus for the Delegation Welcome Centre. When they arrive at the DWC they will be met there by another M&G Volunteer who will be their liaison with the GOC while the HoD and the DAL go to get all the Registration Details for the Group. When this is completed Delegation will be brought to the Host Town Bus for departure to their Host Town. This operation worked very well in Dublin Airport in the case of Flights coming into Pier A these were not brought to the Bus Lounge in Pier C but bussed directly to the Delegation Welcome Centre. Aer Rianta the Irish Airport Authority employed a piper to meet each Delegation this generated a wonderful atmosphere and encouraged the ordinary airport passengers to take part in the welcome of the teams the general travelling public joined with the volunteers and Airport staff in applauding the arriving Delegations which contributed in no small way to the overall success of the operation. Any action to involve the General Travelling public is a great way of including them in the experience and leaves them well disposed towards the athletes and the Games. Shannon Airport Arrivals Delegations will be met at the appropriate Gate by their Meet and Greet Volunteer(s) and DAL. Family members, if any, will be escorted to the Baggage Hall through the normal channels M&G Volunteer will check with the HoD that all his/her group are present and the details held by GOC are correct. The designated Passport and Baggage Tag representatives will hold all the details for the Group (however, in the case of very large groups these may be requested to break into sports and have the coaches for each of these disciplines hold the passports)
Delegation will then be escorted by Meet and Greet Volunteers through Customs and Immigration into the Arrivals Hall. They will then be escorted through the Terminal Building to the Delegation Welcome Centre. They will be met there by another M&G Volunteer who will stay with the Delegation while the HoD and the DAL collect all Accreditation for the Group. When this is completed Delegation will depart from the DWC on their relevant bus to their Host Town. Baggage will be transferred directly from the aircraft to the carousel where the baggage claimant will claim all luggages on behalf of the group; from here baggage will be loaded onto the host towns. All luggage should be clearly identified with 2003 World Games baggage tags. Shannon operation went as planned and ran very smoothly Departures for all Airports Delegates will arrive at the Airport 2/3 hours prior to departure time. In Dublin Airport this will be controlled by a coach management system to ensure only two buses unload at any one time and to avoid congestion. Delegations will then be escorted to the appropriate check in desk for their flight through a designated door from the Coach set down area. When final travel details are received Aer Rianta may agree to dedicate a check in desk to Special Olympics in the check in area.
Assistance will be provided to departing Delegations from Belfast and Shannon typically identifying the correct Check in Areas and Departure Gates Airport Operations functions will not extend Airside and will be much more low key than the Arrivals operations. The departures operation ran for longer than originally anticipated but the busiest day was Monday 30 th June. A steady downpour of rain also contributed to this being one of the hardest days of the operation. Coaches were actually staged in the National Show Centre and on the Departures road four coaches were called up each time to dedicated entrance doors to the Departures floor were used for Delegations. Aer Lingus dedicated two areas in the Departures floor for check in for Aer Lingus handled flights and this was a major plus in getting the Delegations check in running smoothly. Aer Lingus also opened check in 3 hours before the flight was due to leave which alleviated congestion in the Departures Hall. Aer Rianta dedicated two special doors for the Security frisking which also helped enormously. Volunteers and Airport staff applauded each Delegation as they moved from check in to the Departure Gate and this generated a positive response from the travelling public in the same way as arrivals and included them in the Special Olympics Share the Feeling. Co-operation of Airport Police and the Airport Authority is vital for this to work efficiently. Advance notice to the Travelling public of the expected extra traffic around the airport to ensure the positive impact of the Games is maintained until the last Delegation has left the country. 3.1.2 Constituent Groups Provided For Official Delegations 3.1.3 Types of Venues
Dublin Airport and the Great Southern Hotel Belfast International Airport Shannon Airport This also included Belfast City Airport M&G had a substantial operation in the Great Southern Hotel (DWC) as well and provided support for the Delegations while they awaited their accreditation and brought them to the Host Town bus when they were ready to leave. None 4. Policies & Procedures 4.1. Policies Were correct for the operation 4.2. Procedures Some procedures had to be changed as events unfolded i.e. flight details changed etc but everything worked well
5. Timeline 5.1. Milestone Summary The timelines for Meet and Greet and particularly in relation to Flight Information were not always realistic. Flight information was due to have been received by 31st January 2003, however, there was flight information being received the week of the Games. Roistering for Volunteers for M&G was totally dependant on the flight information and again this was not available until very close to the Games. Departure flight information turned out not to be accurate either and this put a lot of pressure on for the period between the Arrivals and the Departures. Meet and Greet to be set up as a separate Functional Area and realistic timelines relevant to the work to be set. Dedicated Flight information function. 6. Budget 6.1. Budget Information. Meet and Greet did not require a budget.
6.2. Forms A short checklist was used at the Aircraft to ascertain the name of the HoD the numbers in the Delegation the number of pieces of luggage and whether they were tagged with the Special Olympics Baggage Tags. These forms were drawn down from the main Flight Information database. A customised Database with the relevant forms available and updated automatically from Housing/Host Town/Language Services/Baggage/Delegation Services/Registration/Flight Information.
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