Airlines are Limiting European Travel for Employees

One of the advantages of being an airline employee is the discounts on travel. And for some carriers, that courtesy even extends to workers’ families and friends.

Not this summer.

Due to the unprecedented travel chaos at airports as well as staffing shortages that have resulted in numerous delays and cancellations, airlines are quietly discouraging their employees from using their perks for European travel, according to CNBC.

It’s an effort to lessen the overcrowding and problems at airports, which have been so bad that Delta Air Lines even sent an empty plane to London last month just to retrieve passengers’ luggage.

And, well, let’s also not discount the fact that trans-Atlantic flights are moneymakers for airlines. At a time when carriers are just coming out of the financial stranglehold of the pandemic the last two years, the last thing you want to do is give away free seats to Europe.

“Many European airports are experiencing overcrowding, significant delays and passenger caps, greatly limiting non-rev departure availability,” American Airlines said in a message to staff on August 5 that was seen by CNBC.

American and United have already blocked workers from using their heavily discounted “buddy” passes for family and friends to travel to London. American’s edict runs until mid-September.

And it’s not just London and it’s not just American and United. CNBC reported that JetBlue Airways temporarily halted standby pass travel, including for staff, between John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York City and Guayaquil, Ecuador’s Jose Joaquin De Olmedo Airport due to “heavy flight and bag load.”