Airlines Bumping Passengers More Often Highlights Focus on Traveler's Compensation Rights

A new study found that American travelers are now finding themselves bumped from commercial airline flights more often than in previous years.

According to data from the Wall Street Journal, the number of passengers who were involuntarily denied boarding between October 2021 and September 2022 more than doubled compared to the same period the previous year.

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The total climbed by 24 percent from the period between October 2018 and October 2019.

Passengers who are bumped from an oversold flight they’ve already paid for are typically entitled to compensation. The carriers sometimes negotiate with passengers and convince them to change flights in exchange for money or flight vouchers.

“In all cases for issues beyond an airline's control, airlines are not required to compensate passengers when flights are delayed or canceled,” AirHelp vice president Eric Napoli told TravelPulse in January.

“Unfortunately, U.S. national law does not offer much protection for avoidable travel disruptions,” Napoli continued. “Compensation is only required if passengers are denied boarding from an oversold flight.”

The United States Department of Transportation’s website outlines how much travelers are entitled to for oversold flights. Airlines must pay 200 percent of the value of a one-way ticket (up to $775) if the passenger arrives between 1-2 hours past the scheduled landing time.

For domestic flights delayed by longer than two hours, impacted travelers are entitled to 400 percent of the one-way ticket price (up to $1,550). Delays on international flights have the same compensation structure, but the window is up to four hours for 200 percent and more than four hours for 400 percent.

In addition, the DOT said airline passengers downgraded before departure to a lower class of service may be entitled to a partial refund.

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