Denied boarding and overbooking
If you were refused a seat you had booked and checked in for, compensation is owed almost regardless of the reason — denied boarding has no extraordinary-circumstances escape in the way delay and cancellation do. Volunteering, however, changes everything.
Work out what your flight is owed →Why it is the strongest claim
Overbooking is a commercial choice. Airlines sell more seats than the aircraft has because some passengers do not turn up, and when everyone does, someone is refused. Nothing about that is outside the airline's control, which is why the extraordinary-circumstances defence does not rescue it.
The Court of Justice has also read the protection broadly. In Finnair v Lassooy (C-22/11) it held that denied boarding is not limited to overbooking — an airline that bumps passengers for operational reasons of its own is in the same position.
Volunteer or denied — the difference is everything
Airlines ask for volunteers first, and they are required to. If you accept an offer to give up your seat, you are negotiating: whatever you agree is what you get, and your Article 7 right is gone.
If you are refused against your will, the fixed compensation applies, plus re-routing or a refund, plus duty of care. Before accepting any offer at the gate, work out what the statutory amount is — the voucher being waved at you is often worth less.
What to do at the gate
- Ask for the refusal in writing, there and then. It is much harder to obtain afterwards.
- Do not sign anything describing you as a volunteer unless you are one.
- Keep the boarding pass and the booking reference.
- Ask what they are offering, then compare it with the statutory figure before answering.
Questions
I volunteered to take a later flight. Can I still claim?
No. Volunteering replaces the statutory compensation with whatever you agreed. That is why it is worth knowing the statutory figure before you accept an offer at the gate.
Can the airline refuse me boarding for being late to the gate?
Yes — the protection applies where you presented yourself on time with a confirmed booking. Arriving after the closing time is a different situation.
Does overbooking count as an extraordinary circumstance?
No. It is a commercial decision within the airline's control, which is why denied boarding is usually the most straightforward of the three claims.
Related
- EU261 — the statute itself
- Your flight was cancelled
- Stuck at the airport: what the airline owes you now