The Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) has outlined a plan for a digital platform to help people book flights back to the UK quickly in the event of an emergency.
Named Airline Inventory, the system would provide 24/7 support during an overseas crisis, such as those seen in Israel and Sudan over the past year.
The CAA – an arm’s length body of the Department for Transport – has published a tender notice for a flight booking service that would apply when, under certain business rules, a consumer can arrange their own flights using scheduled services or those chartered by the agency.
Rescue fares
It will have to all the fares available on the global distribution system, along with ‘rescue fares’ that might be offered by various airlines, along with the capability to take card payments and an audit functions for payments to be tracked.
Initially it will also include a database for all relevant consumer data, but the notice indicates that in the future will be replaced by an APR to the CAA’s central repatriation database.
The authority has also indicated that, due to the specialized nature of the service and the need to develop it quickly, it would be preferable for potential suppliers to have an ongoing interest in the travel industry and hold an air travel organiser’s licence.
