Weathering travel disruptions with confidence
When Tropical Cyclone Alfred hit southeast Queensland and northern New South Wales, severe winds, heavy rain, and flooding threw travel plans into chaos. Without a solid strategy, businesses faced costly delays and disruptions.
Airports across the region were hit hard. Gold Coast and Ballina Airports remained closed for nearly four days, while Brisbane Airport shut down for over two days—right through peak business travel periods. The ripple effect was massive. Flights were grounded, schedules were upended, and FCM clients had to act fast to rework their plans.
Rapid action in a crisis
The goal was simple: keep business travellers safe, informed, and moving where possible.
Here’s how travel plans were managed during Cyclone Alfred:
- Calls to change or cancel flights were answered within 30 seconds.
- 73% of bookings were made, changed or cancelled online.
FCM Travel Australia worked around the clock to help clients navigate the disruptions caused by the major weather event. Using real-time travel alerts, supplier partnerships, and risk management expertise, our team helped businesses navigate the disruption with minimal impact.
Keeping travel on track
In lead-up to the cyclone hitting, a government client turned to FCM for help supporting their emergency response.
FCM deployed emergency volunteers and government employees to the impact zones, providing support to the local community before, during, and after the cyclone.
With staff embedded in the government’s crisis centres, FCM remained on call 24/7, ensuring seamless coordination and rapid response when it mattered most.
Our Business Continuity Plan (BCP) Management Team activated across business units to monitor and manage any potential technical outages or service disturbances.
To reduce wait times and better support customers, we also increased our After Hours staffing by 'standing up’ daytime teams to manage the anticipated call spikes before, during, and after the cyclone made landfall.
A steady hand through every storm
When travel plans fall apart, having an experienced travel management company (TMC) on your side is invaluable. One of our clients, Hastings Deering (Australia) Limited, shared their appreciation for FCM’s dedicated support:
Thank you for all the work that you and your team did to assist us with changes last week. It was a massive effort and we are all very grateful for the support.
Belinda Brown | Manager – People Services Hastings Deering (Australia) Limited
Is your travel program disaster-ready?
Disruptions are inevitable. How you respond makes all the difference. With a proactive approach, real-time travel alerts, and expert support (like the live updates FCM provided before, during, and after Cyclone Alfred), an experienced TMC can help businesses stay ahead of challenges while keeping their travellers safe.