Corporate travel leaders hit out at government over reaction to Iran war

The government has reacted too slowly to the war in the Middle East and failed to communicate with the industry as businesses work round the clock to support and repatriate clients, according to sector leaders.

Advantage Travel Partnership chief executive Julia Lo Bue-Said told the Corporate Travel Conference in London on Tuesday: “Our members are brilliant at working through these situations. But we need information at every level, timely and robust.” 

Instead, she said companies “are frequently working blind”.

She told Travel Weekly: “The government communication has been appalling. The situation isn’t being communicated locally. Thousands of customers aren’t being engaged with.”

Business Travel Association chief executive Clive Wratten reported: “Our members have had to look after 50,000 people travelling for work in the Middle East.” 

But he said the government was proving “harder to engage with than previous ones” and said: “It’s frustrating. There is no reaching out to business. Things move at a snail-like pace, when our industry moves fast.

“People in this room have evacuated more people than the government ever will. Our big appeal to the government is to ‘make decisions’.”

Lo Bue-Said explained: “Everyone is working round the clock. What we want from the government is communication so we can give clear information. Right now there isn’t the information to understand the situation locally.”

Asked what the implications may be for the Easter getaway, just two weeks away, she said: “You tell me.”

Iata UK and Ireland manager Lara Maughan warned of a risk to supplies of jet fuel, noting that 25%-30% of the kerosene supply to Europe comes from the Gulf. She told the summit: “It’s a critical issue and a major concern.”