Director at security consultancy HP Risk Management, David Holley, gives his opinion on what the recent terror attacks across the world mean for the business travel manager.
Attacks in France, Turkey, Tunisia, Mali and the bombing of Metrojet 9268 in Egypt has meant that terrorism is once again in the headlines. So what does this mean for the business travel manager?
Most significantly, these incidents ram home the importance of robust risk management programmes. In addition, travel tracking and clear lines of communication between travel managers and travellers are critical.
On the November 13, the mobile network was kept operational throughout the attacks in Paris; this meant that GPS travel tracking worked.
John Scott of Voyage Manager, confirmed this: “Our tracking systems helped identify and communicate with several hundred travellers in the Paris region and gave managers much greater clarity at the time.”
Equally essential but often overlooked, is the need to have a sensible and flexible reaction plan up your sleeve. It always helps to make travellers aware of emergency courses of action prior to travel.
There is a tendency to evacuate travellers from a country immediately after, or during a crisis; however, complex attacks increasingly involve striking multiple targets. Therefore risks at airports, railway stations and trains themselves should be considered too. Travellers can be caught up in a secondary incident as they try to evacuate.
Often hibernation is a more appropriate response; this means keeping travellers in a safe location until the dangers have passed. Travellers will often complain about this counter intuitive approach as they just want to get out, but pre-briefing them that you may keep them in situ, in a safe location, will dispense with a lot of angst. Be ready to speak to their families as well, who may also want reassurance.
This does mean that a safe location needs to be identified. Large hotels may not be the answer as they are often attractive targets. For example, in Brussels during the raised alert level, the Radisson Blu was locked down as a precaution causing consternation amongst guests.
Airbnb which is often dismissed for safety reasons by corporate travel programmes, could potentially serve as a safe bolt hole. The discretion of an Airbnb may offer greater security than a flash hotel full of fellow travellers.
Additionally, start information sharing with other corporate travel managers; there will be others in the same predicament. Common solutions might be quicker than trying to fix a problem on your own.
A lasting impact of the latest attacks in Europe, could be an increase in border controls and reversal of freedom of movement legislation. Germany, Austria, Slovakia, Slovenia, Finland and the Netherlands have re-introduced border checks resulting in more security and longer travel times.
Nonetheless the business traveller remains resilient. In a poll conducted by the Global Business Travel Association in America, three quarters of travel buyers said that travel to Europe will remain largely unaffected after the Paris attacks.
Sadly terrorism is a problem that is not going away. All the more reason to keep preparing for the next incident.
HP Risk Management Ltd is a security consultancy established two years ago by David Holley to assist companies manage their travel risks. More information can be found at www.hpriskmanagement.com.