Business continuity plans must address massive air travel shutdown
When the ash cloud from Iceland’s Eyjafjallajökull volcano shut down air travel across Europe and beyond, the business continuity plans of stranded British comedian John Cleese included hiring a Mercedes cab and forking over the roughly $5,000 fare to get him where he needed to go. “How do you get God to laugh? Tell him your plans,” he quipped.
For many a business continuity manager, however, the punch line was probably a good deal less existential. Losses for the airlines alone surpassed $1 billion. That figure does not include the toll on organizations crippled by their inability to ship or receive materials by air — or the effect on business from the stranding of employees.
“What we really had here was asymmetrical reliance on one or two modes of transportation, oceangoing vehicles and air travel,” said Donald Byrne of North River Solutions Inc. “The trains weren’t disrupted, and the bus lines and the automobiles were not disrupted. But you can’t use those across the Atlantic Ocean.”
Now that the dust has settled, experts like Byrne are urging business continuity managers — including those at businesses not affected by the ash cloud — to use the event as a teachable moment while the chaos it caused is still relatively fresh in people’s minds.
See Business continuity plans must address massive air travel shutdown, by Linda Tucci, Senior News Writer, SearchCIO.com.
Tags: Business Continuity, Eyjafjallajokull, natural disasters, volcano
