Travel risk management programmes were tested to the limit again last week following the atrocious incidents in Brussels, just months after many organisations reviewed their processes in the aftermath of the Paris attacks.

Some companies will have been better prepared on this occasion, but there are still issues and inconsistencies in the data provided and the processes used for tracking and subsequently supporting travellers.

What is clear is that very few companies have implemented an adequate, robust risk programme.

For example, traveller tracking is positioned as a duty of care solution and travel managers and TMCs alike believe the corporate is covering their obligations if they are able to provide traveller tracking data in the case of an emergency.

In fact, most companies do not have ‘traveller tracking’. What they actually have is ‘traveler scheduling’.

Does your tool actually track your traveller in real time? If not, then you have a gap in your monitoring.

Most traveller tracking systems track scheduled time of departure and scheduled arrival of aircraft – this is not traveller tracking; it’s traveller scheduling. What happens when a flight is delayed or diverted?

How do you monitor where a traveller is when they are not at the airport, on the aircraft or at the hotel or office?

If you do not have a robust travel risk management programme in place then maybe now is the time to disclose to your stakeholders the strengths and weaknesses of your traveller tracking and close the gaps with a review.