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International passengers walk through the arrivals area at Terminal 5 at Heathrow Airport on November 26, 2021 in London, England.
Leon Neal | Getty Images News | Getty Images
Airlines want people to take a European vacation this summer — as long as it’s not their employees.
Carriers are discouraging their staff from using their employee perks for travel to and from some of Europe’s biggest airports, warning that getting a seat home will be difficult.
The moves come as airport labor shortages and industry strikes have made European summer travel challenging, just as airlines were hoping to capitalize on higher bookings after a Covid pandemic slump of more than two years.
American Airlines has barred staff from only using their flight benefits for personal travel from London Heathrow Airport through “at least” Sept. 11 and had temporarily banned the use of those perks from Amsterdam, through July 31. United Airlines has prohibited the use of buddy passes — deeply discounted flights for friends and family — on trips through London Heathrow through at least the end of August.
United is also telling staff about the challenges with overseas travel this summer and to prioritize customers, a spokesman said.
Those decisions came after Britain’s busiest airport established departing passenger caps in an effort to ease congestion this summer.
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