Overview:
Our client, a global consumer retail manufacturer, requested comprehensive evacuation for three employees that were in Lebanon when hostilities started. The business travellers were air evacuated from Beirut, Lebanon to Istanbul, Turkey and then travelled to Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. The challenge was to provide a seamless coordination, ensuring the travellers faced no disruptions.
Problem:
The client contacted International SOS to support the evacuation of three business travellers from Beirut to Istanbul as tensions escalated. These individuals needed to return safely to Abu Dhabi, and commercial flights were heavily disrupted or cancelled.
The primary challenge was to ensure a smooth and efficient travel experience, despite the ongoing security risks and disruptions in Lebanon, within a short timeframe. Coordinating these services for international travellers in a foreign environment required a trusted, experienced partner.
Solution:
The client called the International SOS’ Assistance Centre in Dubai for evacuation support, and our team of security and logistics experts leveraged our network capabilities to provide a comprehensive solution:
- Safe Ground Transport to Airport: Arranged transportation from their hotel to the Beirut airport with one of our vetted security providers and coordinated by our security experts.
- Charter Flight for Safe Evacuation: Our assistance team arranged a cost-effective charter flight for the travellers alongside other clients who had also requested the evacuation of their employees.
- Transfer and Accommodation: Arranged transport from Istanbul airport to a security-vetted hotel, ensuring the travellers could recuperate after arrival. Istanbul is the preferred evacuation point for many international travelers, due to the wide available network of domestic and international air carriers flying from Turkey. It also has preferable visa regulations, for International and Lebanese travelers, compared to other regional locations.
- Onward Travel Arrangements: Assisted with flight bookings to Abu Dhabi, ensuring the travellers seamlessly transitioned to their final destination.
- 24/7 Assistance Centre Support: Our dedicated Assistance Centre in Dubai handled all logistics, leveraging our local network in Lebanon and Turkey to ensure that all services were executed with precision.
Impact:
All logistical arrangements were executed promptly, ensuring the safety and security of the travellers. They experienced a smooth evacuation from Beirut, arrival in Istanbul, and to their final destination in Abu Dhabi. Within 24 hours of the assistance request, a charter flight option and ground transportation services were arranged to collect the travellers from different locations within Beirut to the airport. The timeline from the request to the clients' leaving Beirut was less than 48 hours.
Thanks to our team’s professional coordination and swift response, the client fulfilled its Duty of Care despite the very challenging circumstances. This case underscores International SOS’s capability to provide high-quality travel and safety solutions in challenging environments.