John Bevan: 'Cook's collapse showed us agents need to be ready to share customer data'

As agents don’t pass on customer contact information to us, we had no way to communicate to the thousands who were rebooking – which caused significant confusion at a time when clarity and speed were of the essence.

The Cook crisis showed again that our industry can lose sight of the most important person, the customer. We have one of the most complex travel industry infrastructures in the world, and although it is supported by the best consumer protection, it has not kept up with the pace of change. It has become too complicated for us, let alone the people we are all here to serve.

There are understandable reasons why agents want to hold on to their clients’ information, and we’ll always respect those – but our industry will never be immune to crisis, when the needs of the customer have to take priority.

So with that in mind, once this peak season is out of the way, we will begin requesting the lead passenger’s contact information from the agent as part of the booking process. We will hold that data separately and securely in adherence to GDPR legislation from the time the booking is confirmed, to the day after the customer returns from their holiday – at which point it will be erased.

But by sharing this limited amount of data, I believe we will be better able to fulfil our legal obligation to look after and care for customers when they need it most.

Many hard lessons were served with the collapse of Thomas Cook, as they are after every crisis. However, it’s time for outdated protectionist practices, that ultimately put the customer at a disadvantage when they need our help, to be consigned to history.

John Bevan is chief executive of dnata Travel Europe