Flight disruption - NDC schedule changes

Important: This workflow applies to Smartpoint Desktop 11.7.24.1 and above.

Tip: Tap or select an image in the steps below to view it full sized.

This page includes:

Overview and requirements of the new airline schedule change process
New workflow
How to accept, modify, or cancel involuntary changes
Accept changes for a canceled held booking
FAQs

Overview

Agencies consuming NDC content have airline flight disruptions and schedule changes automatically reflected in their NDC booking.

Travelport+ (1G) receives an NDC schedule change notification from the airline for an NDC booking.
Travelport+ automatically updates the flight information, and adds, updates, or removes any new segments related to the change.
Travelport+ continues to store the original and new segment details in the DI lines.

These enhancements aim to reduce manual intervention and improve the overall efficiency of disruption handling for travel agents and agencies.

To fully support the new flight disruption workflow, all PCCs within an agency must have their AAT table's NORM field set to Y and agents must be on latest version of Smartpoint Desktop (11.7.1.24). As of February 5, 2026, Travelport automatically activates the NORM field in all AAT tables to Y. If your agency opts out, refer to the original flight disruption process.

The new NDC flight status displays as HK, which aligns more closely with industry standard and improves overall booking accuracy. Although the status shows HK, booking creation, modifications, and cancellations are still serviced via Flight Search plug-in.

For agents on the latest Smartpoint Desktop version (11.7.1.24), a new indicator “N” displays at the end of the booked NDC flight segment, in the same location as the guarantee * as is for EDIFACT today.

For agents on previous Smartpoint Desktop version less than 11.7.1.24:

The NDC indicator "N" character in the air segment line in the PNR Viewer is not present.
The round "N" icon in the upper-right corner always shows as red, regardless of NDC booking status. However, the user can still press it to launch the Flight Search plugin.

NDC airline schedule change workflow

Important information:

To fully service NDC booking files for carriers launched after November 19, 2025 (e.g., All Nippon Airways and Saudia Airlines), agents must be on Smartpoint Desktop 11.7.24.1 or higher. Once enabled, the new functionality applies across ALL carriers.
The NDC segment status displays as HK after February 5, 2026. Bookings made prior to this date may display a ZK status. The ZK status will change to HK if the segment is modified. For more information, refer to NDC segment status.
Agencies using automation to service bookings should review the automation for compatibility.

Agencies consuming NDC content now have airline flight disruptions and schedule changes automatically reflected in their NDC booking file.

When an NDC schedule change notification is received from the airline, Travelport+ updates the flight segment status accordingly. This includes:

Changing UN (Not Operating) to TK (Schedule Change).
Updating TK (when used alone, indicates a Time Change).
Adding UN or HX (Have Canceled) segments to the itinerary.

After the itinerary is updated, the booking is routed to specific queues based on the type of schedule change received:

Queue 11 – For schedule changes, including flight number changes, route changes, re-timing, and partial involuntary cancellations.
Queue 23 – For full involuntary cancellations, TTL expiry, no-shows, and voluntary changes made outside the NDC channel.

Action involuntary changes

Important: Agents must accept, modify, or cancel the airline schedule change either by using Smartpoint Cloud or Smartpoint Desktop through the NDC capabilities within Flight Search.

Accept involuntary changes

To accept involuntary changes:

Select the amber N icon.

In this example, segment 1 is the original flight and no longer operating. Segment 2 is the new flight the customer is re-accommodated on.
The booking file displays with a Schedule changed warning in the Reservation information. Schedule change information displays on the right panel, with UN segment status for the original flight which is no longer operating and TK segment status for the new flight the customer is re-accommodated on.

If the customer is satisfied with the re-accommodation, select the Accept changes button.

If the updates are successful, a Schedule change accepted toast message displays. The Schedule changed warning and the UN status segment are removed, and all segments now show HK status.

Note: The airline may revalidate or reissue tickets (varies by airline) depending on the type of disruption. Upon release of this new process, if the airline revalidates the ticket, the amber NDC icon does not turn green after the processing is complete.

Modify involuntary changes

If the traveler is unsatisfied with the new flight options returned by the airline, the agent can look for alternatives. Provided the airline's business rules for involuntary changes are satisfied by the new flights selected, the penalties are waived.

Select the amber N icon to open the booking file in Flight Search NDC plugin.
Select the Change flights button.
The NDC Air Search (Modify) panel on the left is pre-populated with the current flights. Change the date/time for the undesired flight to something more suitable.

In this example, the airline changed the outbound from 11 NOV to 12 NOV and the user has decided to search for 10 NOV:
To look for alternative flights, select Search. Alternate flight options display with the price difference showing as $0.00 if the penalties have been waived by the airline.

Note: Certain airlines do not support rebooking via the NDC API after flight disruption with penalties waived. If this is the case, the price differences shown for the flight options will not be $0.00. A warning banner displays advising the user they may need to contact the airline directly to rebook without penalties.
Select the new flight option. The Review and confirm screen displays confirming the flight selections and again displaying that the penalties have been waived.
After reviewing, select Ticket.

The confirmation screen displays, indicating that the new flights have been booked successfully. If the airline has reissued the ticket, the new tickets are displayed.

Waiver code

Certain airlines may require the user to enter a waiver code to have the penalties waived. If this is the case, the Apply waiver to flight results check box is automatically selected and the user enters the waiver code in the text box.

Cancel involuntary changes

If the traveler is unable to find a suitable alternative, or no longer wishes to travel, he/she may request a refund with penalties waived. Each airline defines its own rules for when and how refunds are allowed, including whether penalties are waived and whether refunds can be processed via Smartpoint Cloud or the Smartpoint Desktop Flight Search NDC plugin.

Select the amber N icon. The booking file displays.

In this example, the airline has canceled the outbound entirely and not provided a suitable alternative.
Select Cancel flights.
A dialog box displays indicating the original fare and tax and the refundable amount. In this case, the total amount paid is being refunded, so all penalties have been waived.

Select Cancel and refund tickets.

A toast message displays indicating if the cancellation was successful.

Note: Certain airlines do not support rebooking NDC flights after flight disruption with penalties waived. If this is the case, the refundable amount will not be equal to the original fare and taxes, and a warning banner displays advising the user they need to contact the airline directly for refund without penalties. Close the Cancel and Refund window and contact the carrier for a refund request.

Important note: If all the segments in an NDC booking are canceled by the airline, no segments are added back to the booking. No banner is added, and the booking file is placed on Queue 23 for processing. The NDC icon is red. Select the NDC icon to accept the changes. The red icon is advising the flights have been canceled. Most airlines require the agent to contact the airline customer care center to assist the traveler.

Canceled held booking

In the case of a held booking that is canceled due to time-limit expiry or the cancellation of all segments without alternatives, the user must accept the change via Smartpoint Desktop or Smartpoint Cloud to remove the HX segments from the face of the booking file to history.

FAQs

Question	Answer
Does this new flight disruption flow work for all NDC carriers?	Yes, the new flight disruption flow is supported by all live NDC carriers.
Is there a minimum version of Smartpoint Desktop user need to be on to access the new flight disruption management flow?	Yes, users need to be on Smartpoint Desktop version 11.7 to access the new flight disruption flow.
Does the new flight disruption management flow in Smartpoint Cloud?	Yes, there is no need for customers to do an upgrade.
Does the new flight disruption flow work on lower Smartpoint Desktop versions if the AAT setting for the NORM field is set to ‘Y’?	Yes, it does work, with some limitations: The ‘N’ character does not appear in the air segment line for an HK segment. Instead of the color of the status icon in the PNR Viewer reflecting the traffic light system of green, amber or red, the icon ‘N’ icon is always red for any non-disrupted NDC order. In case of a disrupted order, the status icon will turn amber for retimed or rebooked scenarios and for full cancellation with no alternatives it will turn red. The user must click the red ‘N’ icon to launch the Flight Search NDC plug-in and take the appropriate action on the disrupted booking.
What type of disruptions are covered under the new flight disruption management flow?	Schedule changes included in the new disruption flow are flight change, departure date change, route change, flight retiming, and partial or full flight cancellation without an alternative.
Does the user need to take any action on canceled order due to time limit expiry?	No, action required from the user. Our PNR sync logic will act on the booking and place on the cancellation queue (Q23).
What happens when a user clicks the ‘Accept changes’ button for a disrupted booking in Flight Search NDC plugin in Smartpoint Desktop or Smartpoint Cloud?	After sending acceptance, a ‘Schedule change accepted’ toast message is displayed. The ‘Schedule changed’ warning disappears and the ‘UN’ status segment are removed. All segments show as ‘HK’ status. Depending on the airline and type of disruption, tickets may be revalidated or reissued. Instead of the color of the status icon in the PNR Viewer reflecting the traffic light system of green, amber or red, the icon ‘N’ icon is always amber if the airline revalidates the tickets on acceptance of a disrupted NDC order.
Does the user need to accept a disrupted booking if the traveler agrees with the reprotection for any type of flight disruption - flight rebook, retimed or cancellation without an alternative?	Yes, the user must accept to sync up the PNR, if the traveler is satisfied with the reprotection option.
What happens if the user does not send an acceptance for a schedule change when the traveler is satisfied with the re-protection?	The user will not be able to perform further actions on that disrupted booking, as the PNR will be out of sync.
Can a user modify a booking after accepting the reprotection option, and what will occur if they do?	Once the reprotection is accepted, any subsequent flight modification is subject to penalties according to the fare conditions.
Can a user cancel a booking after accepting the reprotection option, and what will be the outcome?	Once the reprotection is accepted, any subsequent cancellation is subject to penalties as per the fare conditions.
Can the user rebook if the traveler is unhappy with the reprotection in the new flight disruption management flow?	Yes, the user can rebook via the Smartpoint Cloud or Flight Search NDC plug-in in Smartpoint Desktop, if the traveler is unhappy with the reprotection. If the NDC airline supports free-of-cost change rebooking via the NDC API, then Reshop options will be returned with the price difference is $0.00. If the NDC airline doesn’t support free-of-cost change rebooking via the NDC API, a warning advises contacting the airline directly to rebook without penalties is returned.
Can the user refund/cancel if the traveler is unhappy with the reprotection in the new flight disruption management flow?	Yes, the user can receive a full refund via the Smartpoint Cloud or Flight Search NDC plug-in in Smartpoint Desktop, if the traveler is unhappy with the reprotection. If the NDC airline supports full refund via the NDC API, a dialog box shows the original fare, taxes, and refundable amount in Smartpoint Cloud or Flight Search NDC plugi-n in Smartpoint Desktop. If the total paid is refunded, all penalties are waived. If the NDC airline doesn’t support full refund via the NDC API, a warning advises the user to contact the airline directly for a refund without penalties.
Can the user rebook a disrupted booking where all segments are cancelled without alternative?	No, it’s not supported by NDC carriers. Hence, the user needs to accept / cancel the disrupted booking and create a new booking.
What happens if ‘Change flights’ and 'Cancel flights' buttons are not visible for a disrupted booking in NDC plugin in Smartpoint Desktop or Smartpoint Cloud?	Contact the airline's call center directly to request a modification or refund on that disrupted booking.