Swissair’s former crisis team has revisited the airline’s response to the 1998 SR111 disaster off Halifax, describing how it supported relatives of the 229 victims long after the immediate emergency. The account, led by former finance chief Walter Kälin and former personnel chief Matthias Mölleney, highlights the logistical challenge of building a structured family-assistance system after the McDonnell Douglas MD-11 crash on 2 September 1998.
The airline had to organise care for relatives travelling to Canada, return personal belongings, arrange memorial events and keep families supported over an extended period. Kälin described the limits of the operation at the time, stressing that Swissair could not simply send a large contingent of caregivers to Halifax without clear responsibilities and shift coverage. The support programme continued until 2003.
Mölleney, who had only recently taken on the personnel role when the crash happened, said the aftermath reached far beyond the first days after the accident. The experience later fed into broader aviation thinking on crisis management and family assistance, including lessons that remained relevant through Swissair’s own collapse.