Overbooked Flights

If you are unlucky you may turn up at the airport to be told that the flight has been 'overbooked' and there are no seats left on the plane, even though you have a confirmed reservation. If this happens to you at

• an EU* airport and you are travelling with any airline or
• a non-EU* airport and are flying into an EU* airport on an EU* airline

you are legally entitled to compensation under EU law  - provided you have a confirmed reservation and that you arrived at the check-in desk on time.

Overbooking and Denied Boarding Compensation

'Overbooking' is when airlines take more reservations for a flight than there are seats on the plane. This is not illegal. Airlines do it deliberately because they usually expect some of the passengers not to turn up. Usually it works out OK. But occasionally too many people turn up for a flight, so some of them get left behind (or "bumped").

If you are "bumped" off a flight at an airport in the EU* or at an airport outside the EU* when flying to an EU* airport on an EU* airline, then the airline must pay you compensation. This is called Denied Boarding Compensation (or 'DBC'). The rules for payment of DBC are set out in an EC Regulation (EC Council Regulation (EC) 261/2004). 

This Regulation says that you will be entitled to compensation provided you can satisfy three conditions. These are:

1. you must have a valid ticket;
2. you must have a confirmed reservation;
3. you must have checked-in by the deadline given to you by the airline.

If you can meet these conditions the airline must compensate you in three ways.

First, it must give you the choice of:

If you decide not to travel, a refund, within seven days, of the parts of the tickets not used. If it is a connecting flight and you have already made part of the journey and do not want to continue with it, reimbursement of the total price of the ticket (including parts of the journey not made if the flight is no longer serving any purpose in relation to your original travel plan) within seven days and a free flight back to point of departure.

or

Re-routing to your final destination as soon as possible or, if you agree, at a later date. (If the airline flies you to another airport in your destination city then they must pay for the transfer to the airport you were booked for or to another close-by point of your choice)

You are not entitled (under Regulation (EC) 261/2004) to reimbursement of any other components of your trip such as hotel and transfer costs.

Secondly, it must also pay you compensation in cash, cheque or bank transfer. (You can accept vouchers instead of cash if you want to but you don't have to). The minimum amount the airline must give you is set out in the Regulation. The amount you should get depends on the length of your flight and on how late you are getting to your final destination. You should be able to work out the amount you are due from this table:-

Length of flight	Delay to destination	Compensation due
Up to 1500km	Up to 2 hours	€125
Up to 1500km	More than 2 hours	€250
1500km to3500km	Up to 3 Hours	€200
1500km to 3500km	More than 3 hours	€400
More than 3500km	Up to 4 hours	€300
More than 3500km	More than 4 hours	€600

(compensation should be paid in local currency depending on the exchange rate)

Thirdly, it must pay for incidental expenses. These are specified in the Regulation as:-

• two telephone calls or emails, telexes or faxes
• meals and refreshments. (The Regulation says these must be provided 'in reasonable relation to the waiting time');
• hotel accommodation if you are delayed overnight.

*This includes all EU Member States plus EEA countries and Switzerland.

For a list of EU Member States and EEA countries click here.

Click here for our FAQs on passenger rights under Regulation (EC) 261/2004