In this article for LARA, Chief Commercial Officer of CMAC Group, Ashley Seed, highlights how airlines can transform the passenger experience during disruptive events.
Recent thunderstorms that caused widespread disruption across UK airspace were a reminder that even leading airlines cannot control every aspect of operations. Weather will always affect aviation, just as technical issues, industrial action and air traffic restrictions continue to test the resilience of the industry.
With disruption on the rise, passengers understand that delays and cancellations are often unavoidable. In fact, our latest research found that three in four UK passengers experienced flight disruption in 2025, a significant increase from just over half (54%) in 2023. But what shapes the passenger opinion of an airline is how they are treated during moments of disruption. How it is handled leaves a lasting impression, which significantly influences customer loyalty.
Airlines must rethink what good passenger care looks like. It is no longer enough to focus solely on recovering the operation. The passenger experience during disruption is increasingly becoming a key measure of an airline’s reputation.
The first hour matters more than ever
When flights are disrupted, airlines naturally focus on restoring the operation. Aircraft need repositioning, crew rosters need rebuilding and network decisions must be made quickly. Yet while those conversations are taking place, passengers are making their own judgement about the airline, often within the first hour.
Our research found that almost three quarters (74%) of passengers expect support within 60 minutes of disruption, but fewer than half (42%) receive it within that timeframe. One in five passengers say they received no communication at all.
That expectation gap matters. Passengers recognise that adverse weather conditions cannot always be worked around, but what they expect is communication. They want reassurance that the airline is in control – that decisions are being made and that practical support will follow.
In many respects, disruption management has become an exercise in confidence as much as logistics. A prompt update explaining what is happening and when the next communication will arrive often does more to reassure passengers than waiting to present a fully formed solution several hours later. Airlines that communicate early demonstrate control. Airlines that remain silent leave passengers to fill the information gap themselves, often through social media speculation or misinformation. This can quickly create additional challenges, as frontline staff spend valuable time correcting rumours and responding to inaccurate information. The knock-on effect is longer queues, slower assistance and increased frustration for everyone involved, making an already difficult situation even harder to manage
Technology should speed up support, not replace people
The aviation industry has invested heavily in digital passenger services over recent years, and that investment is paying off. Self-service technology allows passengers to receive updates, select accommodation, arrange ground transport and rebook their journeys much faster than traditional manual processes ever could.
Passengers have responded positively to that shift. Our research found that 85% of users considered disruption self-service tools easy to use, while satisfaction with flight rebooking has increased from 57% in 2023 to 87% today.
The value of digital technology lies in removing unnecessary friction from what is already a stressful experience. Giving passengers the ability to choose a hotel, arrange transport or receive updates directly on their phones reduces queues at customer service desks and enables airline teams to focus their attention where it is needed most.
However, the impact of disruption extends beyond logistics. Behind every delayed flight is a passenger missing an important business meeting, a family celebration or the start of a long-awaited holiday. Passengers often need reassurance that cannot always be delivered through an automated notification alone. While digital updates play an important role in keeping people informed, they cannot replace the reassurance that comes from speaking to an empathetic staff member. The value passengers place on that human support shouldn’t be ignored in favour of convenience.
The most effective disruption strategies combine the speed and efficiency of technology with access to experienced people who can step in when circumstances become more complex. Airlines that master the combination of technology-enabled solutions and genuine human support are best placed to improve the disruption experience, strengthen long-term customer loyalty and future-proof brand reputation.
Better coordination delivers improved passenger care
Communication and technology are only part of the equation. Once a flight has been cancelled or significantly delayed, airlines need accommodation, transport and alternative travel arrangements to be available almost immediately.
That level of response is only possible if the right partnerships are already in place. Building resilient supplier networks allows airlines to secure hotel rooms, coaches and taxis quickly, even during large-scale disruption when local capacity is under significant pressure. Without those relationships, valuable time is lost sourcing suppliers while passengers continue to wait for support.
We’ve seen the value of this approach during several major disruption events over the past year. During Heathrow’s closure following the substation fire, CMAC coordinated accommodation and onward transport for more than 4,250 passengers within 24 hours. During Storm Éowyn, we helped airlines arrange more than 7,500 passenger journeys and over 1,200 hotel stays across Ireland and the UK, ensuring passengers could continue their journeys as quickly as possible despite widespread weather-related disruption.
Those experiences demonstrate that disruption recovery depends as much on preparation as it does on operational reactive decision-making. Airlines that have trusted partners and scalable processes in place are better equipped to respond quickly when unexpected events occur.
Passenger care becomes a competitive advantage
The industry is making progress. Our research shows passenger satisfaction with disruption handling has risen to 77%, while negative perceptions following disruption have fallen compared with three years ago. It’s clear that investment in better communication, digital tools and passenger support is beginning to deliver measurable improvements.
However, passengers leave little room for complacency. More than a quarter (28%) say they are less likely to travel with an airline again if disruption is handled poorly. In an increasingly competitive market, those moments create a lasting impact on customer loyalty.
The disruption caused by the recent storms will eventually be forgotten. What many passengers will remember is whether they received timely updates, whether practical support was easy to access and whether they felt the airline genuinely cared about getting them where they needed to be.
Weather will always remain outside an airline’s control. But the passenger experience during disruption does not.
Explore the data, the trends and the insights in to what passengers really think - download CMAC’s Aviation Disruption Whitepaper.
Then explore how these ideas come to life in practice in our Disruption Management solution.