When software development company Informatica shut down travel at the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic, Sajida Begum, who manages the company’s travel program outside India, was soon to face some of the most major travel planning challenges of his career.
The first challenge came during the first months of the pandemic. Like much of the rest of the world, Begum has seen Informatica – which has its largest employee base in India, although its headquarters country, the United States, remains its largest travel program – asked its employees to work from home, followed by the Prime Minister Closure of the country by Narendra Modi.
At that time, the goal was to bring employees working abroad home.
“As most of the employees were stranded in the US, we had to drop off the list at the Indian Consulate in the US and then they were screened and booked on the repatriation flights,” Begum said. “We managed to move everyone except two specific employees, who were on long-term projects in the United States”
With the offices closed, these two employees had been working in hotels for two months while waiting their turn for the limited number of repatriation flights, which favored categories such as senior citizens and pregnant women. When they were finally approved to return, however, standard travel booking approaches no longer applied, she said.
At that time, Air India was the only carrier allowed to repatriate travelers to India and according to the repatriation rules, these flights could only be booked by travelers through the Air India website, not by the company or through his travel management company, American. Express Global Business Travel, nor use the central payment account usually used for air travel.
“It was between the consulate and the traveler; no one else was involved,” Begum said. “We guided them on the best way to book, because we had the alerts for each country and we had the support of [Amex GBT].”
It was more than just a round trip that Begum had to guide employees through. Repatriation flights via Air India were only available on certain days and via a handful of gateways, so travel also had to be arranged to ensure they could travel through San Francisco with time to connect , including a hotel stay – which were also in short supply at that time.
The infection rate at that time was at its highest level, so it was very important to morally support travelers.
– Sajida Begum of Informatica
Also, the arrangement was to include a government-authorized hotel quarantine upon arrival in India, which at the time was seven days for asymptomatic arrivals. Helping employees through this, who arrived as India was living through some of its darkest days of the pandemic, gave new meaning to the term ‘travel advisor’.
“They were just sitting in a room, and there were a lot of Covid patients inside the hotel as well, so they were very nervous,” Begum said. “The infection rate at that time was at a high level, so moral support for travelers was very important.”
More than repatriations
With those travelers safely home, it wasn’t the last time Begum had to take extraordinary measures to move its travelers around the world during the pandemic. Another employee had to relocate to Canada for a long-term business-critical assignment. At that time, there was no direct travel between India and Canada. The only option was to connect through Mexico or Doha, Qatar, where they could be tested for Covid-19 and then approved to travel to Canada. They opted for the Mexico option, which also included a connection in Paris for a total journey of about 26 hours, Begum said.
Over time, Begum had to bring other travelers to Canada, and other options opened up, including Abu Dhabi, which at least had direct connections to Bangalore and made travel a bit easier. Still, Begum had to prepare travelers for the possibility of testing positive for Covid-19 at their transitional airport, which would then have required them to be quarantined there.
“What we have recommended is that they wait for the situation to improve, so that they can take a direct flight, or opt for a trip knowing that they could have 14 days of quarantine at the arrival, where they should make those expenses their own,” she said.
A similar situation occurred for an employee who worked in Singapore but returned to India for a personal trip at the start of the pandemic. When Singapore closed its borders, the employee was unable to return to Singapore and was rejected six times in requests to return directly from India. Begum helped the employee find another option: get permission to travel from Turkey. Singapore approved this request, which required the traveler to quarantine in Istanbul for two weeks before returning to Singapore, where he still had 14 days of quarantine.
Begum also had to help employees manage some domestic travel needs as part of moves during the pandemic. When the United States eased restrictions in August 2021, for example, a few employees had to move to the United States but still could not enter even though they had valid visas stamped. This required them to apply for a national interest exception, which required going to the consulate in Chennai.
Prepared for whatever comes next
“We definitely relied on Amex GBT to provide us with up-to-date information, but I would also double-check and monitor government websites in each case,” Begum said. “We also have a partner with [International SOS] that helps employees make decisions.”
With the lifting of global Covid-19 restrictions in many parts of the world, Begum’s duties have become a little less herculean, although she still manages some additional travel needs due to illness. Informatica is hosting a major conference in the United States in May, and with visa appointments backed by long waits in some locations, it is helping employees find and travel to consulates elsewhere in India so they can be processed to travel on time. In one case, a traveler had to go to two different consulates: one for biometrics and one for an interview.
Although not a requirement, Informatica has maintained a policy recommending that travelers test before domestic flights in India that connect to international flights, she said. This reduces the chances of them testing positive in transit and being quarantined.
Begum also worked with Amex GBT’s Meetings and Events team to organize vaccination events at Informatica’s Hyderabad office for employees and their family members. “The country was in lockdown, and we arranged the whole set-up at the last minute, due to last-minute approval from the hospitals we had contracted with for vaccinations.”
The heavy lifting has left Begum feeling more confident handling future crises, such as when Abu Dhabi was hit by a missile strike earlier this year.
“We have reviewed the situation and advised Amex [GBT] not to book tickets to the UAE or transiting through the UAE, and that has been suspended for some time,” she said. “We are looking at the safety and security of our employees.
