By Christine Connolley, Senior Crisis Program Manager, Global Crisis Management, BCD Travel
I just read BTN Europe’s piece on Accessible travel: Making your programme truly inclusive—and the core message hits everywhere: if your travel program isn’t accessible, it’s not safe. Period.
From a travel risk management standpoint, accessibility isn’t “extra”. It’s risk mitigation. It’s resilience. And it’s duty of care in action. Yes, our supplier partners have a big role to play in getting this right and many are making great strides. But organizations can’t outsource this responsibility. There is a lot we can and should do to protect our people.
One story in the BTN Europe piece drove this home for me: a wheelchair was lost for three months—only to be returned sawn in half. That’s not just a service failure, it’s a ten-alarm wake-up call for any organization with mobile employees. Mobility equipment isn’t “luggage.” For many travelers it’s essential to safety, independence, and their ability to work. Losing it can strand someone in unsafe conditions, trigger medical issues and open your organization to legal, financial, and reputational consequences.
This is why accessibility has to be treated as a travel risk management issue. Sadly, these risks are real, and that means we can plan for them. Here’s how:
4 smart moves to make travel risk work for every body
- Consider individual risk profiles in risk assessments: Accessibility is part of an individual risk profile, and it needs to be treated that way. If you are looking at what could go wrong in a location and not at the traveler’s specific needs, like mobility aids, medical requirements, or other accessibility factors, you’re missing half the picture.
- Build it into sourcing: When you’re sourcing or running an RFP, include accessibility checks from the start. Don’t take “we’re compliant” at face value, get the receipts. For the suppliers your travelers use the most, follow up with audits so you know they’re actually walking the talk.
- Have their back on the road: Make sure travelers know where to turn if something goes wrong. Have plans in place for immediate support if an employee needs replacement or repair of mobility aides or other essential equipment. Delays can create safety risks and strand people in situations they can’t navigate on their own.
- Ask the experts: Your employees know what they need better than anyone. People with lived experience will spot gaps you haven’t even considered. Ask for their input before travel, build those needs into the plan, and follow up with post-trip surveys to capture what worked and what didn’t. Then actually use that feedback to tighten your program.
The rise in travelers requesting assistance at UK airports—nearly doubling since 2010, according to Business Travel News Europe—is a promising sign. Not because the system is flawless, but because more travelers feel empowered to ask for what they need. That visibility matters. When accessibility requests are counted, they can’t be ignored, and the data puts pressure on airlines, hotels, and ground providers to raise their game.
But demand alone won’t close the gap. Accessibility can’t just be a reactive fix when something goes wrong. It must be built into policy, processes, and supplier management from the start. And that includes making sure your assistance provider can truly support travelers, especially after hours. Not every company has that covered.
With our Advito’s Travel Risk Management Sourcing Support, we help organizations cut through the glossy sales pitches to actually vet, compare, and select a third-party assistance provider that fits their program. One that delivers real support when your people need it most.
Because at the end of the day, accessibility isn’t just about compliance or convenience, it’s about people. And making sure they’re safe, supported, and able to keep moving forward is what real risk management looks like.
