Case study: 900+ calls, 1800 cancellations; managing travel disruptions amidst geo-political event
When tensions escalated between the two neighbouring nations due to geopolitical issues, everything was uncertain, even travel plans, including business travel.
Amidst India and Pakistan tensions, especially during May 7-12, 2025, the government had announced airport closures across the border states, especially in the north and northwestern regions, including Kashmir, Rajasthan, Punjab, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, and Leh. Meanwhile, travellers underwent strict security measures at airports in other Indian states.
As airports remained closed for a few days, flights were cancelled and all the travel plans to these regions came to a screeching halt. Many business travellers, including FCM clients, on their business trips to these regions, were stuck.
Managing business traveller safety
As the tensions grew and the Indian government announced airport closures, our FCM India team got into swift action to keep the travellers safe and informed.
Our clients, travel managers, bookers, arrangers and other key stakeholders were duly informed of the steps we took to manage business travel safety.
They were also receiving real-time notifications on the FCM Platform.
Here are the steps the teams took to manage safety:
- Made 500+ calls to customers to check their whereabouts and safety
- Received 300+ calls (domestic and international) and shared relevant information
- Arranged over 100 cars when an event was halted midway
- Shared credible information with the travellers
- Kept a hawk’s eye on refresh bookings in affected cities
- Monitored the geo-political situation 24/7
- Shared daily reports with our clients
Over the seven days, FCM Travel India saw nearly 1800 cancellations across air, hotel, and ground transportation.
The teams including account management, operations, and after-hours service teams helped clients navigate the disruption with risk management expertise and supplier partnerships.
During the situation in Srinagar followed by airport closures and flight cancellations across different states, our passionate and dedicated team worked round the clock and helped our clients navigate the disruptions. We helped many customers get back home safely from different locations and managed last-minute flight cancellations and reschedules through proactive communication, supplier partnerships, and risk management expertise
Rakesh Negi, Leader - Business Transformation & Customer Excellence, FCM Travel India.
Keeping business travellers moving
During uncertain times, it is crucial to keep your business travellers safe and moving. Our teams took action on high priority with minimum turnaround time. The travel desk was active throughout day and night, and rescheduled flights and made special arrangements to get travellers back home safely.
“A situation like what we witnessed in the past few days came as a surprise and a shock, with no clear playbook to follow while dealing with such travel disruptions. Overall, I am both thankful and impressed by the calm and resilience that the FCM team demonstrated to support our travellers,” said CT Contract & Operations Manager of a global oil & gas company. Read testimonials here.
Preparing your corporate travel for risk management
No one can predict volatile situations and you can always prepare for them, and having an experienced travel management company by your side can be invaluable. Keep your traveller safe and stay ahead in the travel industry with FCM.