The recent snowstorm in the U.S. Northeast was a reminder of how quickly large-scale disruption can test the travel ecosystem. As we write this, disruption caused by airspace closures in the Middle East is unfolding in real time. Colleagues at airlines, agencies and within corporate travel teams are working around the clock to reroute travelers across regions.
Whether it is weather or war, the operational pressure is the same. When disruption hits at scale, managed travel becomes a servicing and repatriation effort. It is about rebooking quickly, constructing viable new routings, managing risk and keeping stakeholders informed while protecting program integrity. However, there’s contemporary issue: weaknesses in the current NDC environment remain stark.
Agencies have been raising concerns for some time about how NDC performs during irregular operations (IROPs), when flights are cancelled or heavily disrupted. They report slow system responses when trying to reissue tickets, difficulty building alternative routings when entire corridors close, and limited flexibility with complex, multi-sector corporate itineraries. In too many cases, they revert to long phone queues when digital channels stall.
On one hand, airlines question why NDC adoption in managed corporate travel has not accelerated. On the other, many describe EDIFACT as legacy and outdated. Even though agencies still have broader access to inventory, clearer visibility of options and more established servicing workflows with the latter. Technology should improve resilience. But when crises hit nowadays, agencies feel they have fewer workable options than before.
Corporate programs depend on systems that can handle volume, complexity and pressure without failing. Booking tools, mid-office systems, reporting, duty of care and settlement must operate in sync. When airspace closes or major hubs shut down, those connections are tested immediately.
Airlines are investing heavily in modern retailing and that is understandable. But managed travel operates in a high-accountability environment where servicing under pressure is non-negotiable. If the infrastructure struggles during large-scale disruption, the whole value of managed travel is called into question.
Reputations in this industry are won and lost during periods of disruption. Travelers remember how they were looked after when flights were cancelled and plans changed. Travel managers remember which systems helped them regain control and which ones added friction.
New Distribution Capability ultimately has to prove its capability in those defining moments. Retailing improvements matter, but resilience under pressure matters just as much. Maybe even more. If the corporate channel is expected to move faster, the servicing environment has to work when networks are unstable and decisions have to be made quickly.
