When Travel Plans Fall Apart: Technology's Role in Crisis Management

When Travel Plans Fall Apart: Technology's Role in Crisis Management

Disruptions in air travel can happen in the blink of an eye, leaving travellers scrambling to salvage their plans. The recent closure of London Heathrow Airport due to a fire at a nearby electrical substation, brought this reality into sharp focus. Flights were grounded, terminals evacuated, and passengers left stranded as Europe’s busiest airport shutdown for more than 18 hours in response to the crisis. Events like these highlight the importance of having better systems in place to help travellers navigate unexpected chaos.

Since January, several high-profile incidents have tested the resilience of airports and airlines worldwide. Flight tracking site, FlightRadar24 reports that 121 flights were diverted away from Heathrow to 50 different airports in 21 countries on Friday. Earlier this year, winter storms in the U.S. caused mass cancellations across the country with reports of 469 flight cancellations and 3,970 delays in a single day. January’s IT outage in Germany temporarily halted operations at Frankfurt and Munich airports, creating ripple effects across Europe’s airspace. Both major airports in Belgium have also faced disruptions in recent times as strikes grounded all departing flights, affecting travel plans for hundreds of thousands of travellers.

Such disruptions aren’t new, but their frequency and scale seem to be growing. What’s often missing in the response is a cohesive plan to help passengers adapt when the plans they’ve carefully laid unravel. Tools that integrate real-time travel data and automated planning are becoming indispensable for managing the chaos, offering solutions that reduce the burden on travellers and restore some sense of order.

Moving from Reaction to Resolution

The key to navigating travel disruptions lies in shifting from reactive measures, like waiting at customer service desks or manually searching for rerouted flights, to proactive systems that anticipate and address problems as they arise. These systems act as problem-solvers in the background offering a structured way to handle the unpredictable, scanning thousands of data points ensuring travellers don’t stay stuck for longer than necessary.

Platforms like DoROAD use live data from airlines, airports, weather forecasts, and transportation systems to fast-track decision-making when disruptions occur. Passengers no longer need to solve the puzzle of figuring out which flights are still operational, where to find an alternative route, or whether it’s better to switch to rail or bus themselves.

For example, during the Heathrow fire, proactive systems could have identified nearby airports like Gatwick or Birmingham as viable rerouting options while searching for connecting flights that minimize delays and inconvenience. In the case of February’s IT outage in Germany, integrating train schedules with flight paths would have created seamless alternatives while European airspace was in turmoil.

Smarter, More Personalized Solutions

Travel challenges aren’t one-size-fits-all, so the solutions to disruptions must be tailored to individual needs. The aim should always be understanding traveller priorities, whether they prioritize speed, cost, or convenience, to present options best suited to the situation.

Say a business traveller loses a key morning flight due to a cancellation, a tailored system would prioritize finding routes that preserve the earliest possible arrival time. Meanwhile, a family traveling for leisure might prefer an option with less logistical stress, even if it means arriving later. Tech platforms should adjust to the unique circumstances of each passenger, solving problems with more context.

DoROAD’s AI-powered platform takes the personalization even further. Travellers who consistently avoid layovers, prefer specific airlines, or value accommodations when delays stretch overnight will see those preferences reflected in alternative arrangements. Features like real-time notifications keep passengers updated as solutions emerge, helping them act quickly and avoid unnecessary confusion.

A Multimodal Approach to Travel

One of the big lessons from recent disruptions is that sticking strictly to air travel may not always be the best response to a crisis. Major incidents often force passengers to turn to other modes of transportation, like trains or buses—but many airlines don’t integrate these alternatives into their rebooking systems.

Multimodal platforms, on the other hand, do. They consider air, rail, and ground transportation as part of a unified system, presenting passengers with options that fit the disruption timeline. For instance, if heavy snow cancels flights in a particular region, the system might recommend switching to rail routes or scheduled coach services until flights resume—providing tickets without travellers needing to search independently.

During the IT outage in Germany in January, rail services absorbed much of the stranded passenger demand. Integrating these systems into broader travel management tools would have saved time and reduced chaos for countless travellers without requiring them to navigate disconnected systems on their own.

Finding Order in Chaos

Unfortunately, we cannot prevent travel disruptions, but we can get better at handling them. For many impacted by these events, the frustration often stems not just from the disruption itself but from the lack of clarity on what to do next.

Technology’s role is to change that experience by offering resources that turn chaos into clear options that provide a roadmap forward.

Ultimately, these systems aren’t about eliminating disruptions; that’s impossible. But they offer a much-needed bridge between frustration and resolution, helping travellers reach their destination no matter what obstacles arise along the way. For modern travellers, the value lies in having access to systems built for the unexpected. Systems that acknowledge disruptions but don’t let them define the journey.