The recent terror attacks in Paris threw the travel plans of thousands of travellers up in the air, and forced travel companies such as TravelManagers to implement their Disaster Plans.
Borders were tightened, train and air travel halted, key attractions closed – the aftermath of the string of terror attacks in Paris on 13 November was a nightmare for travellers, and an absolute tragedy for 130+ poor souls and their families.
But the tragic events called into prominence the Disaster Plans of travel companies around the world. From terrorist attacks to natural disasters, travel companies need to be able to respond quickly and effectively when disaster strikes, and we’re happy to report that one such company, TravelManagers, did splendidly well in responding to the Paris attacks.
According to TravelManagers’ Executive General Manager, Michael Gazal, his company’s focus during a disaster is to provide their network of personal travel managers (PTMs) with as much information as possible, and as quickly as possible, in order to track down and ensure the safety of any clients that may have been affected.
“We have very clear plans and systems in place so that we can swing into action immediately and get on with the task of providing our PTMs with the appropriate client lists.”
Michael Gazal, Executive General Manager, TravelManagers
Michael Gazal, Executive General Manager, TravelManagers
In the case of the Paris attacks, the National Partnership Office (NPO), which has the responsibility of putting the crisis plan into action, was alerted to the situation in Paris within two hours of the first attack taking place, while events were still unfolding at the Bataclan Theatre.
“Less than an hour later, we had provided our entire PTM network with a comprehensive Client Location Report, detailing all clients that were currently in Paris or would be arriving into any point in Paris between 1 and 20 November.”
Michael Gazal, Executive General Manager, TravelManagers
The information provided to the PTM network included the name, phone number and address of the client’s accommodation arrangements, accelerating the task of contacting clients. The NPO also continued to communicate any updates regarding the travel situation in Europe to its PTMs by email, SMS, Intranet and TravelManagers’ Closed User Group Page on Facebook.
For the PTMs, this support – and the speed with which it was provided, was invaluable.
“Having the support of NPO when we are worried and trying to help our clients is so important and those efforts do not go unnoticed – we all really appreciate it so much.”
Gayle Dawson, PTM representative for Queensland’s Springfield Lakes
In the end, 25 of TravelManagers’ PTMs had a total of 46 clients who were affected by the Paris terror attacks. Once those details had been established, PTMs were able to contact those clients to make adjustments to travel arrangements, keep them advised regarding airline announcements, insurance company advisory notices and other details that might impact on their journeys.
Did you have any clients that were affected by the terror attacks? What did you do? Let us know in the comments below.
