When software development company Informatica shut down travel at the start of the Covid-19 pandemic, Sajida Begum, who runs the company’s travel program outside India, will soon face some of the biggest travel planning challenges of her career.
The first challenge came in those early months of the pandemic. Like much of the world, Begum watched Informatica – which has its largest employee base in India, although its headquarters, the US, remains its largest travel program – ordered its staff to work from home, followed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s shutdown of the country.
At that point, the goal was to repatriate employees working abroad.
“Since most of the staff were stranded in the US, we had to put the list up at the Indian Consulate in the US, then picked and booked for repatriation flights,” Begum said. “We have successfully transferred all but certain employees, who were working on long-term projects in the United States”
With offices closed, these two employees had been working in hotels for two months while they waited their turn on the limited number of repatriation flights, which prioritized groups such as the elderly and pregnant women. She said that when the return was finally approved, the standard methods of booking travel were no longer in effect.
At the time, Air India was the only carrier authorized to bring travelers back to India, and according to repatriation rules, such flights could only be booked by travelers via the Air India website – not by the airline or through the US travel management company. Express Global Business Travel, and they cannot use the central payment account normally used for air travel.
“It was between the consulate and the traveler, and no one else was involved,” Begum said. “We told them the best way to book, because we got alerts for every country, and we got support from [Amex GBT]. “
It was more than a return trip that Begum had to guide the staff. Air India’s repatriation flights were only available on certain days and through a few gates, so travel also had to be arranged to ensure they could travel through San Francisco with time to contact them, including hotel stays – which was Also in short the show at that time.
The infection rate at that time was at an all-time high, so moral support for travelers was very important.”
– Sajida Begum from Informatica
In addition, the arrangement had to include a government-authorized quarantine hotel on arrival in India, which at the time was seven days for asymptomatic arrivals. Helping staff through this, upon their arrival as India was experiencing some of the darkest days of the pandemic, gave new meaning to the term ‘traveler advisor’.
“They were sitting in a room, and there were also a lot of Covid patients inside the hotel, so they were very nervous,” Begum said. “The infection rate at that time was at an all-time high, so moral support for travelers was very important.”
More than just repatriations
Once these travelers have safely returned home, it wasn’t the last time Begum had to take extraordinary measures to move her passengers around the world during the pandemic. Another employee had to move to Canada on a long-term critical assignment for the company. At the time, there was no direct travel between India and Canada at all. The only option was to call through either Mexico or Doha, Qatar, where they could be tested for Covid-19, then approved for travel to Canada. Begum said they chose the Mexico option, which also included a connection to Paris for a total flight of about 26 hours.
Over time, Begum had to take other travelers to Canada, and other options opened up, including Abu Dhabi, which at least has direct connections to Bengaluru and made the trip a little easier. However, Begum had to prepare travelers for the possibility of testing positive for Covid-19 at their transit airport, which would have required them to be quarantined there.
“What we have recommended is to either wait until the situation improves, so they can take a direct flight, or choose to travel knowing that they can have 14 days of quarantine upon arrival, as they will have to incur these expenses in,” she said.
A similar situation arose for an employee who had been working in Singapore but had returned to India on personal travel with the start of the pandemic. When Singapore closed its borders, the employee was unable to return to Singapore and was rejected six times in direct return requests from India. Begum helped the employee find another option: get approval to travel from Turkey. Singapore agreed to the request, which requires the traveler to quarantine in Istanbul for two weeks before returning to Singapore, where he had another 14 days of quarantine.
Begum has also had to help staff navigate some domestic travel needs as part of relocations during the pandemic. When the US relaxed restrictions in August 2021, for example, a few employees needed to relocate to the US but still couldn’t enter even though they had valid visas stamped. This required them to apply for the National Interest Exception, which required travel to the Consulate in Chennai.
Ready for whatever comes next
“We have certainly relied on Amex GBT to provide us with up-to-date information, but I will also be reviewing and monitoring government websites in each case,” Begum said. “We also have a partner with [International SOS] It helps employees make decisions.”
With global Covid-19 restrictions lifted in many parts of the world, Begum’s assignments are becoming less onerous, although she is still dealing with some additional travel needs due to the illness. Informatica holds a major conference in the US in May, and with visa appointments backed by long waits in some locations, it helps staff find and travel to consulates elsewhere in India so they can be processed for timely travel. In one case, the traveler needed to go to two different consulates: one for biometrics and one for an interview.
She said that although it is not a requirement, Informatica has maintained a policy that recommends testing of travelers before domestic flights in India that connect to international flights. This reduces the chances of them testing positive in transit and having to be quarantined.
Begum also worked with the Amex GBT Meetings & Events team to prepare vaccination events at Informatica’s Hyderabad office for employees and their family members. “The country was under lockdown, and we made all arrangements at the last minute, due to last minute approval from the hospitals we dealt with for the vaccines.”
Carrying heavy loads has made Begum feel more confident in managing future crises, as it did when Abu Dhabi was hit by a missile strike earlier this year.
“We looked at the situation and advised Amex [GBT] “Not to book any tickets to the UAE or transit through the UAE, it has been paused for some time. We are looking into the safety and security of our employees,” she said.
