Bumped from a flight: what are you owed?

First, work out which kind of bumping happened

The rules turn on one distinction, and airport staff will not always draw it for you.

Voluntary. The airline asks the gate for people willing to give up their seat and offers something in exchange. If you accept, you have made a deal. The fixed legal compensation below does not apply — what you get is whatever you agreed, so the number is negotiable and the first offer is rarely the last one.

Involuntary. The airline denies you boarding against your will, normally because it has run out of volunteers. This is where the law sets a floor, and the floor is specific.

If you are handed a voucher and asked to sign something, you are being treated as a volunteer. That may be the right choice. Make it knowingly.

United States: 14 CFR Part 250

US rules are set by the Department of Transportation and apply to flights departing from a US airport, including foreign carriers' flights, on aircraft with 30 or more seats. The airline must ask for volunteers before bumping anyone involuntarily.

The amounts

Compensation is a multiple of your one-way fare to your destination or first stopover, capped in dollars. The figures below are the current ones in 14 CFR 250.5; DOT adjusts them for inflation periodically, so if you are reading this long after August 2026, check the regulation itself.

Flights within the United States:

• Rebooked to arrive within 1 hour of your original arrival time — no compensation is required.
• Arriving more than 1 hour but less than 2 hours late — 200% of your one-way fare, capped at $1,075.
• Arriving 2 or more hours late — 400% of your one-way fare, capped at $2,150.

Flights from the US to a foreign destination:

• Within 1 hour — no compensation required.
• More than 1 hour but less than 4 hours — 200% of the fare, capped at $1,075.
• 4 or more hours — 400% of the fare, capped at $2,150.

The only difference between the two is the width of the middle band. Note that the clock is measured on arrival, not departure — a two-hour delay leaving that the airline makes up in the air may be worth nothing.

Two details people miss

You can insist on cash. If the airline offers a travel voucher, you are entitled to a cheque or cash payment instead for involuntary denied boarding. A voucher is worth taking only if it is worth more to you than the money, and vouchers carry expiry dates and blackout conditions the cash does not.

It is payable on the day. The rules require the airline to pay on the day and at the place the denied boarding occurred, or within 24 hours if you are leaving before payment can be arranged. You should not be asked to file a claim and wait weeks.

When it does not apply

Compensation is not required if you did not meet the airline's check-in deadline, if you were not on a confirmed reservation, if the aircraft was substituted for a smaller one for operational or safety reasons, or in certain weight and balance situations on small aircraft. Missing the check-in cut-off is the most common reason a real bumping produces no payment, and it is the one thing entirely within your control.

UK and EU: Regulation 261/2004

The UK and EU version — often written UK261 and EU261 — works differently. The amount depends on the distance of the flight, not on the fare you paid, so a cheap ticket on a long route can be worth considerably more than the fare.

For denied boarding, compensation is due regardless of the reason the flight was oversold. The "extraordinary circumstances" defence airlines use against delay and cancellation claims does not apply to overbooking, because overbooking is a commercial decision the airline made.

The amounts

Under the EU regulation:

• €250 for flights of 1,500 km or less.
• €400 for intra-EU flights over 1,500 km, and for all other flights between 1,500 km and 3,500 km.
• €600 for all other flights — in practice, long-haul over 3,500 km.

The UK CAA publishes the same structure in sterling: £220, £350 and £520 on the same distance bands.

The halving rule

If the airline reroutes you and you arrive within a set time of your original arrival, it may reduce the compensation by 50%. The threshold moves with the distance band:

• Under 1,500 km — reduced to €125 / £110 if you arrive less than 2 hours late.
• 1,500–3,500 km — reduced to €200 / £175 if you arrive less than 3 hours late.
• Over 3,500 km — reduced to €300 / £260 if you arrive less than 4 hours late.

What you get on top of the money

Compensation is separate from, and additional to, two other entitlements — a distinction that also causes confusion when a flight is cancelled.

• A choice between rerouting and a refund. It is your choice, not the airline's.
• Care while you wait. Food and drink appropriate to the delay, two phone calls or emails, and — where the delay runs overnight — hotel accommodation and transport to and from it, paid by the airline.

That last point is worth reading twice. If an overbooking strands you overnight, the room is the airline's to pay for. Do not book one yourself and assume it will be reimbursed without asking first; ask the airline's ground staff to arrange it, and if you must pay, keep the receipt and get the refusal in writing.

Which rule covers your flight

• Departing from a UK or EU airport — covered, on any airline.
• Arriving into the UK or EU from outside — covered only if the operating airline is a UK or EU carrier.
• Departing a US airport — the DOT rules apply.

A flight can fall under both, and where it does, you claim under whichever gives more. You do not get both.

What to do at the gate

1. Ask whether you are being denied boarding involuntarily. Say the words. The answer determines which rules apply and it should go in your notes.
2. Ask for the written statement. US carriers are required to hand involuntarily bumped passengers a written explanation of the rules and their boarding priority policy.
3. Get the rebooking confirmed before you agree to anything. A generous voucher on a flight two days from now is not generous.
4. Photograph everything. The boarding pass, the departure board, the gate agent's printout.
5. Ask about the hotel and meals separately. Under the UK and EU rules those are an entitlement, not a goodwill gesture, and they are not deducted from your compensation.
6. Claim in writing to the airline afterwards. No booking site can pay this on the airline's behalf, and any that implies it can is overpromising.

Where we fit, honestly

If you booked the flight through us, we are an agent. We can confirm what was booked and in whose name, and we can chase the airline on a rebooking. We cannot pay denied boarding compensation — that money is the operating airline's obligation and there is no route by which it reaches you through us. We would rather say that at the start than after you have waited a fortnight. Everything we can see is in your trips, and you can contact us with the reference.

The knock-on cost is often the part nobody plans for: a room you have already paid for, on a night you are no longer there. A free-cancellation rate is the cheap insurance against that, and our cancellation policy sets out how the terms are applied once a booking exists. If you are still choosing dates, the price reference shows what a night has actually cost in the cities we cover, and the destination guides are a reasonable starting point.

Related reading

• Why airlines overbook flights — why this happens at all, and whether volunteering is worth it.
• How flying standby works — what happens to standby passengers when a flight is full.
• Red-eye flights explained — why an overnight rebooking changes which night you need a room.
• How flight price tracking works.
• What is skiplagging? — a fare idea that removes these protections entirely.

Common questions

How much am I owed if I am bumped from a US domestic flight?

If the airline gets you there more than an hour but less than two hours late, 200% of your one-way fare up to $1,075. Two hours or more, 400% up to $2,150. Within an hour, nothing is required.

Is the compensation based on what I paid?

In the US, yes — it is a multiple of your one-way fare, subject to the dollar caps. In the UK and EU, no — it is a fixed amount based on flight distance, so a cheap long-haul ticket can be worth £520 or €600 regardless of the fare.

Can the airline make me take a voucher?

Not for involuntary denied boarding on a US departure — you can require a cheque or cash instead. If you volunteered, the voucher is what you agreed to, which is why the moment to negotiate is before you say yes.

Do I get compensation if the flight was overbooked because of weather?

Under the UK and EU rules, denied boarding compensation is due regardless of the reason, because overbooking is a commercial decision. Weather is a defence against delay and cancellation claims, not against this one.

Does the airline have to pay for a hotel if I am bumped overnight?

Under UK and EU rules, yes — accommodation and transport to it are part of the duty of care, on top of any compensation. US rules do not require it, though airlines often provide it as a matter of policy. Ask at the gate rather than booking first and claiming later.

How long do I have to claim?

It varies by country and by which rule applies, and the limits are set by local law rather than by the regulation itself. Claim promptly rather than researching the deadline — there is no advantage to waiting.

Can Book The Bed claim the compensation for me?

No. It is owed by the operating airline and has to be claimed from them. We can confirm what was booked and help with the reservation itself — contact us with the reference from your trips.

What happens to my hotel if I am bumped and arrive a day late?

Nothing automatic. The room booking does not know your flight changed, and a non-refundable rate stays non-refundable. Tell the property as early as you can — a hotel told in advance is usually more helpful than one dealing with a no-show — and see what free cancellation actually means.