In the world of travel, Covid is not just a distant memory. With income lost overnight, many agents left the travel industry, only to cautiously reappear in the past year or two.
With the pandemic still fresh, it is no wonder that the recent situation in the Middle East – where flights in and out of the region were cancelled at the weekend – has triggered a wave of panic among some advisors.
“It is reminiscent of the early days of Covid,” one advisor told Travel Weekly, adding that insurance policies can be fairly easy to navigate, but airline policies much less so.
Another said they have largely been left in limbo, waiting on updates from the airline’s trade platform before they can communicate with their stranded customers.
“To be fair, most of them just want to be listened to,” they said of the situation.
Despite the high stress of recent days, the broad consensus was that the situation has made many clients especially grateful to have an agent on their side.
“I’ve had so many clients reaching out with heartfelt thankyous,” a tired but optimistic agent said.
Like their customers, the main issue facing advisors is the uncertainty of the current situation. Despite the 72-hour window – customers are asked not to contact their agent if their trip is more than 24 hours away – many of the agents Travel Weekly spoke to said they had clients travelling later in the year attempting to cancel or reroute their trip.
Australia’s geographical position means it is dependent on a number of gateways such as the Middle East and Asia. While the situation has raised concerns about the Middle East, advisors say travellers remain undeterred from travelling to Europe.
“Other than those travelling this week, the demand for travel, especially to Europe, hasn’t slowed down at this stage. If the conflict drags on, the sentiment might change, but at this stage it’s still full steam ahead…but with more interest in the Asian airlines rather than Gulf airlines,” Andrew Sullivan, owner at The Don’t Forget Travel Group, told Travel Weekly.
While some were apprehensive that the situation could turn into another Covid-like disruption, others were more optimistic.
“I think it will blow over pretty quickly,” one agent said, likening it to previous shutdowns of airspace in the Middle East.
