72% of aviation workers reveal experiences of verbal or physical abuse during travel disruption

• 55% of aviation workers’ mental health has been negatively impacted by flight disruption
• 82% of aviation workers agree that they are battling with fewer resources to manage disruption effectively

Air travellers have been met with mass delays and cancellations in the last week as IT outages have hit airports globally this past week. This comes as airline staff navigate the busiest period in 2024 air travel, working tirelessly to get customers to their destination with minimal disruption.

New research released this week by travel technology specialist, IBS Software, could not be more timely, revealing that 55% of workers in the air travel sector have seen their mental health negatively impacted by the fallout of flight disruption. What’s more, 47% say that disruption affects their work-life balance, as they often think about issues faced during the day when they get home from work.

Aviation workers revealed that 72% of airline or airport staff have been intimidated, shouted at or physically hurt during disruptions to customer travel. Shockingly, 71% of air travel workers say they see an increase in staff being abused by customers when disruption occurs. This number correlates closely with customer anger, as 73% of aviation workers see customers “furious or frustrated” in the face of travel disruption.

Encouragingly, despite widespread customer frustration, 65% of airline or airport workers think the airline industry manages disruption well. However, they identify access to accurate information, the impact of disruption on operations and getting information to customers as the top three challenges faced by airlines when disruption occurs.

Ignoring these challenges can have a lasting impact on airlines, with 62% of air travel workers agreeing that customers now choose an airline based on its reputation for handling disruption.

That said, airlines are stuck between a rock and a hard place, as 82% of aviation workers agree they are battling with fewer resources to manage disruption effectively. Respondents claim that technology will improve their ability to manage disruption, for example, investment in Customer Relationship Management (32%), artificial intelligence (25%), mobile apps (14%) and self-service tools (12%) will all increase responsiveness to disruption.

Julian Fish, SVP & Head of Aviation Operations Solutions at IBS Software said:

“It’s deeply concerning that so many air travel workers report an increase in abuse to mission critical staff during high stress events, and that most have experienced intimidation or even physical harm.”

“Airlines desperately need the resources to handle disruptions more efficiently, to improve passenger communication, and to alleviate the pressures placed on staff. Handling disruption efficiently provides airlines with a clear and demonstrable competitive advantage. Together, we can create a safer and more resilient travel industry for both passengers and staff.”

Thankfully, much of this week’s chaos due to the Crowdstrike outage seems to be abating, with many airlines reporting significantly fewer flight cancellations yesterday.  However, if you are still stuck in a queue, require more information or are feeling stressed due to the delays, spare a thought for the aviation workers who are almost certainly doing their best to get the situation resolved as quickly as they can.

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ABOUT IBS SOFTWARE

IBS Software is a leading SaaS solutions provider to the travel industry globally, managing mission-critical operations for customers in the aviation, tour & cruise, hospitality, and energy resources industries. IBS Software’s solutions for the aviation industry cover fleet & crew operations, aircraft maintenance, passenger services, loyalty programs, staff travel and air-cargo management. Across the hospitality sector, IBS Software offers a cloud-native, unified platform for hotels and travel sellers, including central reservation (CRS), property management (PMS), revenue management (RMS), call centre, booking engine, loyalty and distribution. For the tour & cruise industry, IBS provides a comprehensive, customer-centric, digital platform that covers onshore, online and on-board solutions. Across the energy & resources industry, we provide logistics management solutions that cover logistics planning, operations & accommodation management. The Consulting and Digital Transformation (CDx) business focuses on driving digital transformation initiatives of its customers, leveraging its domain knowledge, digital technologies and engineering excellence. IBS Software operates from 17 offices across the world.

Further information can be found at www.ibsplc.com