Reframing Travel Plumbing: NDC, MCP as Tech Stack Allies

This article explores the relationship between NDC (New Distribution Capability) and MCP (Model Context Protocol) in the travel tech stack. Experts argue that NDC solves a content problem, while MCP solves a connectivity problem; they are complementary, not substitutes. MCP may lower the barrier to NDC implementation and accelerate AI agents' access to NDC content. Andrew Jordan, Chief Product and Technology Officer at Travelport, said MCP has the potential to reframe NDC, but corporate travel will still require authentication, negotiated rate retrieval, and policy enforcement.