Heathrow Airport Closure: How Diversity Travel Minimised the Impact for its Clients
As a Travel Management Company with years of experience in the industry, Diversity Travel is no stranger to dealing with crises and last-minute disruptions.
On Friday 21st March 2025, we received news that, due to a fire at Heathrow Airport, all flights had been suspended. It was with this news that our teams sprung into action, with the aim of minimising the impact this had on our clients.
We immediately added dedicated messaging on our emergency line to inform passengers of the situation and assure them we were urgently contacting them to re-arrange their travel. This step may seem small, but the reassurance this gave our clients as they contacted us was invaluable.
With the incident occurring in the early hours of the morning, our 24-hour team immediately started taking customer calls, proactively running the data to see which customers were affected and making contact with them.
Our dedicated out-of-hours team then stayed on duty into the morning to support the day teams and ensure we had enough staff to cover the situation. The team received and promptly dealt with over 500 calls and over 60 messages across out Live Chat and WhatsApp channels.
We then brought in additional staff over the weekend to help with the backlog of work and to future proof against any further delays.
Over the course of Friday, we contacted 114 clients whose flights had been affected, as well as 481 clients who were due to travel within the following 3 days, to provide guidance and reassurance.
On average, our agents spent around 4 hours on the phone to clients over the course of the day, helping to reschedule travel plans and providing much-needed support at an incredibly stressful time.
Our Supplier Relations team were in constant contact with the airlines, gathering live information and working with our Airline Account Managers. This allowed us to speed up the re-issuing of tickets, ensuring clients received these at the earliest opportunity to prevent additional costs.
Throughout the day and the days following Heathrow’s closure, we received an overwhelming amount of feedback showing appreciation for our efforts.
"On Friday, the news broke of the fire at London Heathrow causing disruption to service and flights. Considering my flight was the following day at 8am, I was concerned and unsure if I would be able to travel home.
The first thing I noticed with the app, was there were plenty of alerts that had come through overnight informing me of the latest developments and recommendations. As there was nothing certain at that point, I did then contact the 24/7 telephone line and this was answered immediately (even though with the time difference it would have been around 5am UK time). The lady on the phone was really helpful and advised me to continue with online check-in.
I do want to highlight how reassured I was of having both the app and the access to a real human on the end of the phone. Information provided was real time and helpful. And although a bit unknown at times, I didn't feel overly anxious as I was confident that I was receiving a helpful response in an area of so much unknown.
I wanted to share this as I hope it's reassuring for other who may experience any issues whilst away on business." - Hayley Iovannelli, University of Edinburgh
“Just a massive thank you for supporting with delayed flights. I couldn’t have done this without you, so it is very much appreciated.” - Rachel Astbury, Operation Smile
“Fantastic job!! Wonderful to have got through so many flights in such a short space of time – your team is amazing!!” - Hilary Snaith, University of Edinburgh
It’s situations like these that highlight the crucial role of Travel Management Companies in providing real-time support and ensuring travellers reach their destination safely and efficiently.
Diversity Travel’s wealth of experience means we are well-versed in dealing with situations like this and have processes in place to ensure we can provide the best possible alternative solutions for our clients.
If you’d like to hear more about Diversity Travel’s services and how we can help you save time and money on your future travel, you can contact us here.