What Are Your Rights When a Flight Is Overbooked?

This article was originally published in 2017and was most recently updated on October 13, 2026, to include current information.

An empty airplane seat is lost revenue for an airline as soon as a plane pushes back from the gate.

That’s why airlines often overbook flights on the calculated assumption that some passengers change their plans, miss a connection, or don’t show up.

In the United States, overbooking a flight is not illegal. But it can be infuriating when the numbers don’t work out, and you’re the passenger who is involuntarily bumped from a flight in the airline version of musical chairs.

Airlines are bumping passengers less frequently

Airlines began seriously scaling back the number of passengers who are involuntarily bumped after a high-profile incident in April 2017 when a United Express passenger already seated on the plane was involuntarily bumped from a flight and was dragged off the aircraft.

That year, carriers posted a bump rate of 0.34 per 10,000 passengers, down from 0.62 in 2016, according to the Department of Transportation. More recently, U.S. carriers had bump, or oversales, rates of 0.28 percent in both 2024 and 2025, down from 0.30 percent in 2023.

The rates are dropping. Still, in 2025, 24,596 ticketed passengers were involuntarily bumped by U.S. airlines. Delta Air Lines involuntarily bumped zero passengers, but American Airlines denied boarding to 14,758 passengers, or 60 percent of all involuntarily bumped passengers last year.

American has now vowed to nix those denied-boarding numbers entirely by following the lead of other airlines that have stepped up their efforts to convince passengers to give up their seats voluntarily when a flight is oversold.

The new policy was first reported by the aviation blog, View from the Wing, which shared an internal airline memo stating that the airline’s policy is now “Zero Involuntary Denied Boardings.”

“American decided that it needed to promise customers that buying a ticket on American means trusting you’ll be able to fly,” said Gary Leff, View from the Wing author. “And that means no longer relying on just paying out the minimum DOT-required compensation if it comes down to that.”

For American’s part, it will be more transparent about overbooked flights, starting with early announcements at the gate. Agents will request volunteers as a first-line solution and will aim to confirm them on the very next departure while explaining the involuntary denied-boarding compensation.

What are your rights if you are bumped from your flight involuntarily?

If a U.S. airline oversells a flight departing from the U.S., Department of Transportation rules stipulate that the airline must first ask passengers to voluntarily give up their seats in exchange for compensation.

The amount and the form of compensation are up to the airline and often include a confirmed reservation on a new flight, a hotel room, meals and flight vouchers, or cash. Airlines have become so intent on lowering or eliminating the number of passengers involuntarily bumped that the cash incentives for volunteers in oversold situations can reach thousands of dollars.

If enough passengers fail to volunteer to give up their seats and an airline does deny boarding, airlines are then required to issue “denied-boarding compensation,” or DBC, per the DOT rules. The payment is based on the one-way price of the flight and increases according to the length of the delay. Airlines must pay passengers at the time of denied boarding at least the amounts listed below but are permitted to pay more.

Compensation for delays

Domestic flight delays

International flight delays

To be eligible for denied boarding compensation on an oversold flight, you must be departing from a U.S. airport and have a confirmed reservation. You must also have checked in for your flight on time and arrived at the departure gate within the airline’s boarding window.

Keep in mind the DOT does not require airlines to compensate passengers who are denied boarding on charter flights or scheduled flights on planes holding 30 or fewer passengers; they are also not required to compensate passengers who are denied boarding because of aircraft changes due to operational or safety reasons or because of weight and balance restrictions on planes with 60 or fewer seats due to operational and safety reasons.

Tips on how to avoid getting bumped and how to get bumped

Experts say checking in early and having a seat assignment can help you avoid being the passenger who gets bumped. “Don’t wait until check-in to get a seat assigned, because there might not be one available on an overbooked flight,” said Leff. “Then you’re the one waiting and hoping another passenger doesn’t show up or volunteers to give up their seat.”

Conversely, if you do want to get bumped and collect compensation, volunteer.

Gate agents may make announcements seeking volunteers, but Leff recommends you identify yourself in a friendly way at the gate and then stay out of the way.

“Don’t board early if the airline might still need volunteers,” he advised. “They may take someone that hasn’t boarded yet over someone already on the plane.”