Travel risk management: What every company should know in 2025

Last Updated on: 7 月 17, 2025 at 11:21 上午

From unexpected airport closures to rerouted flight paths and rising geopolitical tensions, modern business travel is more complex than ever. Companies aren’t just booking trips anymore; it’s risk management.

Whether your team is flying to London, Dubai, or Singapore, travel disruptions can occur with little warning. A resilient travel strategy is no longer a nice-to-have – it’s essential. Here’s how companies can stay prepared and support their travellers, backed by recent insights from business travel sentiment data.

The new risk landscape for business travel

Over the past year, business travellers have faced disruptions from political protests, Middle East tensions, European airspace reroutes, and even severe turbulence incidents. Flight operations today are impacted by:

• Temporary airspace closures
• Delays from regional instability or civil unrest
• Weather-related cancellations and reroutes
• Labour strikes and last-minute flight crew shortages

In Q2 2025, several major airlines adjusted their flight paths over the Red Sea due to safety concerns, and popular hubs such as Frankfurt and Paris experienced delays due to staffing issues at airports. Companies that lacked proactive monitoring or flexible policies struggled to adapt quickly.

What to do when flights are rerouted or delayed

When routes change or airports close, it often leads to a cascade of issues: missed connections, last-minute accommodation needs, and disrupted meeting schedules. Here are practical strategies to minimise the disruption:

• Book with flexible fares or airlines that offer real-time rebooking support
• Avoid tight layovers, especially on multi-leg routes through high-risk regions
• Use a travel management platform with integrated route-risk visibility
• Build itineraries with buffer time around critical meetings or events

Travellers should also be briefed on what to expect and how to access support channels if plans change unexpectedly.

Are some aeroplane seats safer than others?

After recent incidents involving severe turbulence, including a high-profile Air India flight, some travellers are reevaluating their seat choices. While accidents remain statistically rare, seat placement can influence survivability and comfort in emergencies.

Key findings from aviation safety studies:

• Seats in the rear third of the aircraft have slightly higher survival rates in crash scenarios (Popular Mechanics, FAA data)
• Aisle seats near exits allow quicker evacuation but may expose passengers more during turbulence or loose-object incidents
• Passengers in window seats experience fewer disturbances during cabin movement but may take longer to evacuate

The most important factor remains preparedness: pay attention to safety briefings, know where your exits are, and follow crew instructions.

What business travellers are saying

We did a surface-level sentiment analysis, which tracked over a hundred mentions of Middle East travel from June to early July 2025, and shows a mixed but largely stable outlook:

• 83% of mentions were neutral or positive in tone
• Travellers acknowledged reroutes and airspace restrictions, but many still expressed confidence in regional safety and business readiness
• Negative sentiment focused on outdated airline rebooking processes or slow crisis response systems

One user described a cancelled flight out of Abu Dhabi as a “wake-up call” – not because of the disruption itself, but because of how long it took to get support from the airline’s regional office.

Building a resilient travel policy

To protect employees and maintain productivity, companies should revise travel policies with a risk lens. Key components to include in 2025:

• Trip approval workflows that score route-level and destination-level risks
• Automatic alerts for in-transit travellers when advisories are issued or routes are disrupted
• Escalation protocols and live chat support with TMCs or internal travel teams
• Insurance policies that include coverage for geopolitical disruptions, not just weather or health-related issues

Some companies also give travellers a “veto option” – allowing them to decline high-risk trips without needing to justify the decision, encouraging a culture of safety-first.

Ready for better risk management?

Business travel won’t slow down anytime soon, but the way we manage it must evolve. With the right tools, policies, and real-time insights, companies can keep their teams safe and productive, even when the unexpected happens.

Because in 2025, travel success isn’t just about getting there. It’s about getting there smartly and safely. Discover how we can elevate your travel risk management by 預約演示 要么 註冊免費試用 to test TruTrip’s benefits yourself.