Denied boarding compensation
Denied boarding compensation is the payment an airline owes you when it bumps you from an oversold flight against your will.
Also called: bumping compensation, oversold flight compensation, involuntary denied boarding compensation
Denied boarding compensation is the payment an airline owes you when it bumps you from an oversold flight against your will.
What it means
Denied boarding compensation is money an airline must pay when it bumps you from an oversold flight against your will. US rules call this involuntary denied boarding. Airlines must first ask for volunteers, who can accept any offer. If not enough people volunteer, the airline may deny boarding to others.
For involuntary denied boarding on flights leaving a US airport, 14 CFR Part 250 sets the minimum. No payment is due if the airline offers a replacement trip planned to arrive within one hour of your original arrival time. For a domestic delay of one to two hours, you get 200 percent of your fare to your destination, up to $1,075. For longer delays, you get 400 percent, up to $2,150. International flights leaving the US use one to four hours as the first tier.
The airline must tender payment on the day and place you are denied boarding, in cash or an immediately negotiable check, and give you a written statement of your rights. You can lose the payment if you missed check-in deadlines.
What it means for you
If you are asked to volunteer, ask what you would be owed if you were bumped involuntarily, because the airline must tell you. Volunteers can negotiate. If you are bumped involuntarily, ask for the written statement and the payment at the airport, and keep your boarding pass. An airline may offer free or reduced-rate travel instead of cash, but it must disclose the restrictions and tell you that you can decline it and take cash or a check. On flights leaving the EU or UK, separate rules can pay €250 to €600 or £220 to £520.
Example
Say you check in on time for a domestic flight that is oversold, and no one volunteers. The airline bumps you and rebooks you on a flight that lands 90 minutes after your original arrival. You paid $300, so the airline owes 200 percent, or $600, which is below the $1,075 cap. Had the new flight landed two hours or more late, the amount would rise to 400 percent, or $1,200.
FAQ
A volunteer accepts whatever offer is agreed, so there is no federal minimum. Before you volunteer, the airline must tell you whether you are at risk of being bumped involuntarily and what it would owe you if so.
The airline must tender cash or an immediately negotiable check on the day and place the denied boarding happens. If it arranges your alternate trip before the payment can be prepared, it must send payment within 24 hours. It must also give you a written explanation of your rights.
Related terms
- 14 CFR Part 250, oversales (eCFR)
- Regulation (EC) No 261/2004, original text (EUR-Lex)
- Regulation (EC) No 261/2004 as it applies in the UK, Article 7 (legislation.gov.uk)
Updated Oct 18, 2026. Plain-English definitions for general information — not legal or tax advice.