Bumped off a flight: what you are owed, and the trap at the gate

On this page 4

1. Volunteer or denied: the whole thing turns on this
2. What each regime pays
3. You need to have done your part
4. On top of the payment

Volunteer or denied: the whole thing turns on this

When a flight is oversold, the airline asks for volunteers first. Whatever you accept in return — a voucher, a rebooking, lounge access, air miles — is a negotiated deal, and taking it ends your legal claim. If nobody volunteers, the airline starts denying boarding involuntarily, and that triggers a statutory payment that is usually worth considerably more than the voucher being waved at the gate.

So the practical advice is blunt: do not accept anything at the gate until you know what the involuntary payment would be. If you are happy to be bumped, say you will accept the statutory compensation plus a rebooking, and let them decide. Volunteering for a £250 voucher on a flight where involuntary denial pays £520 in cash is a bad trade, and it happens constantly because the voucher is offered first and the law is never mentioned.

What each regime pays

EU261 and UK261. The full distance-band amount, with no delay threshold at all — €250 to €600, or £220 to £520. You get it even if they put you on the next flight an hour later. This is why denied boarding is the strongest claim in the regulation.

United States. The only part of US law with a real payment scale. On a flight departing a US airport, involuntary denied boarding pays 200% of your one-way fare, capped at $1,075, or 400% capped at $2,150 for longer delays — over 2 hours domestically, over 4 hours internationally. Note it is a percentage of your fare, so a cheap ticket produces a small payment and the caps are ceilings rather than entitlements. Get to your destination within an hour of the original arrival and nothing is due. You can insist on a cheque instead of a voucher, and it is payable on the day.

Canada. The APPR pays CA$900, CA$1,800 or CA$2,400 by how late you arrive, and unusually these bands do not depend on the size of the airline.

You need to have done your part

The claim assumes a confirmed reservation and that you presented for check-in on time. Turn up inside the cut-off and keep the evidence that you did — a timestamped bag drop or boarding pass. Airlines occasionally recharacterise a denied boarding as a late arrival by the passenger, and that evidence closes it off.

Being refused for reasons that are genuinely about you — travel documents, fitness to fly, security — is not denied boarding in this sense and pays nothing.

On top of the payment

Being bumped does not cost you the rest of your rights. You still choose between a refund and re-routing, and the duty of care still applies: meals, and a hotel with transport if you are overnight. Those are separate from the compensation and claimed separately.