Travel disruption is a term that covers one or a chain of events that impact your travel plans. In some cases, disruption can be barely an inconvenience, such as a last-minute gate change, a 15-minute departure delay, or perhaps a hotel room that isn’t quite ready on arrival. The more extreme instances, flights can be canceled, or you can be re-routed at the last minute, as well as major impacting ‘acts of god’ such as the Eyjafjallajökull volcano in Iceland or on a global scale, COVID-19 travel restrictions.
While many disruptions are operational, some can be very personal – childcare, illness, and family needs can significantly impact the best-laid business travel plans.
Travel managers must have an up-to-date view of all potential and actual disruptions at all stages of the employee journey to react accordingly when the needs arise. Business travel insurance and collaborating closely with a TMC helps respond to unfolding events.
On a strategic level, data analytics and insights can help travel managers pre-emptively mitigate disruption risks using higher approval levels or blocking bookings on airlines with higher cancellations and delays.
