This leading European airline group partnered with CMAC to reinvent passenger disruption management at scale – co-creating Drawdown.
The impact at a glance
- Mass disruption resolution 8x faster (now <30 minutes)
- Hundreds of passengers re-accommodated simultaneously
- No more manual reconciliation – saving 10+ hours per station per week
- Passenger satisfaction with queues eliminated and loyalty boosted
- Airline teams freed to keep operations moving
- Cost control via automation and locked-in rates
Spoiler: Now out of beta, all airlines are invited to leverage this CMAC technology.
Why this partnership matters
For large airlines, manual disruption handling and inventory-light tools don't scale – especially during IROPs.
This leading European airline group operating over 10,000 flights per day set out to rethink the problem entirely, partnering with CMAC to co-design a faster, more robust solution that puts passengers first whilst keeping operations under control.
The result: Drawdown™
A scalable, automated approach that instantly secures in-demand hotel inventory and sees hundreds of passengers resolved in a single request - ideal for mass disruption.
Why legacy disruption handling no longer scales
Before Drawdown, fixing mass disruption relied on fragmented manual processes:
- Ground teams processed passengers
- In-demand rooms hard to source, transport hard to co-ordinate
- Passenger allocations recorded manually – leading to errors & delays
- 10+ hours per station, per week spent reconciling invoices
- Queuing and staff overtime became routine
For passengers, this meant long waits, uncertainty and dissatisfaction (with 1 in 3 unlikely to rebook with the same airline after poorly handling*).
For teams, it meant added work and pressure - while still supporting dozens of live flights.
The solution: how Drawdown works
1. Block book hotel rooms
Airline teams can block book hotel rooms in bulk, guaranteeing precious inventory during disruption.
2. Allocate via QR code
Passengers receive a QR code and self-claim their room in seconds using CMAC Smartlink.
3. Track in real time
Operations teams see live visibility of disruption being solved, including passenger bookings and room allocations. With a clean audit trail for compliance and reduced EU261 exposure.
CMAC’s 24/7 aviation operations teams are on hand to support ground teams with any exceptions, top-ups, and real-world complexity.
Whilst 6 in 10* air travel passengers wait more than 1 hour to receive their options via other solutions, Drawdown fixes the issue in minutes. This transforms the passenger experience, turning disruption into opportunity, and fostering loyalty and lifetime value.
*CMAC Air Passenger Disruption Survey, September 2025, 59% waited >1 hour or got nothing
Drawdown in action: the first live event
Scenario
- A major European airline group, operating 50+ daily flights from one airport alone
- Multiple flights disrupted simultaneously at once
- Hundreds of passengers required accommodation and transport
Outcome
- All passengers processed in under 30 minutes
- 85% time saving - previously considered “unheard of”
- Passengers felt in control, queues disappeared, and teams finished on time
- No resource drain from regular operations
Because Drawdown was co-created with airlines, it’s designed to evolve with them. Now proven to keep countless other mass disruption events under control, further enhancements are planned for early 2026 – watch this space.
Ready to solve mass disruption?
Book a demo to see how CMAC Drawdown can help your airline move faster, scale smarter, and put passengers first - when it matters most.