Travel agents are emerging as heroes to many travelers during the volcanic ash crisis that is only now coming to a costly end. As the blame game begins, travel agents appear to have proven their value as the public reached out for help.

While the evidence is often anecdotal at this point, its clear that many travel agents went the extra mile for their clients, responding with professional skill to a crisis that engulfed millions of travelers. Case studies of how agents helped clients may prove invaluable.

Lost revenues now total more than $1.7 billion for airlines alone, the International Air Transport Association (IATA) says, calling the six-day crisis devastating. At its worst, the crisis impacted 29 percent of global aviation and affected 1.2 million passengers a day. The scale of the crisis eclipsed 9/11 when U.S. airspace was closed for three days.

One telling statistic is that service capacity was up 600 percent more than average to provide much needed support to business travelers, while call volumes from stranded travelers reached 5,000 percent over their usual levels. Travel counselors have done everything from re-routing flights to just providing peace of mind, American Express says.

Forced to alter plans on short notice, many travelers turned to travel agents for assistance, and this is where the value of the travel agency business model really shines. Agents in various locations assisted stranded clients, where flying was completely impossible agents helped clients find affordable accommodation to atleast help them be comfortable in the city where they were stranded.

In a Crisis, the Advantage of an Agent

The travel chaos caused by Iceland’s volcano shows why travel agents are still the best way to book an overseas trip. As millions of people are stuck where they don’t want to be and are struggling to sort out their plans, those with a travel agent only have to make one call.

That’s an important message for agents to convey, although it needs to be approached sensitively. Just emphasizing that you as an agent offer a  human connection for your clients may be all the message that you need. No one wants to be accused of fear mongering.

Still, unexpected, natural events such as the volcano in Iceland, earthquake in Chile or landslide in Machu Picchu do point out the advantages of planning a trip with a traditional agent. People are starting to realize booking via the Internet is not always the best option for travel, particularly off-shore. Things can—and do—go wrong, and having an experienced professional to speak with is critical to giving consumers peace of mind as well as offering solutions.

Certainly the fallout from the volcano showed the limitations of online booking. With the disruption caused by the ash cloud creating havoc in Europe and jamming travel websites and call centers, it’s been extremely difficult for many travelers who have to do all the running around themselves. But those who booked through a travel agent were able to make one call and have their agent sort out everything for them—or at least explain the options. That’s something they can never get online.