Checked 26 October 2026

Denied boarding compensation: what an overbooked flight owes you

If you had a confirmed booking, arrived in time, and the airline would not let you board because it had sold more seats than the aircraft has, you are owed fixed compensation of £220 to £520 per passenger, paid at the airport, plus a refund or another flight, plus food and a hotel while you wait. This is the one disruption where the airline has no weather or air traffic excuse.

What counts as denied boarding

The regulation (UK261, or EU261 for flights leaving an EU airport) treats you as denied boarding when all of these are true:

You had a confirmed reservation on the flight.
You presented yourself for check-in, or at the gate, by the time the airline told you to, or at least 45 minutes before departure if it gave no time.
The airline refused to carry you for a reason that was not your fault.

Overbooking is the usual reason, but it is not the only one: a smaller aircraft swapped in at the last minute, a seat given to crew or a "must-fly" passenger, or a weight restriction that bumps the last people to check in all count. It is not denied boarding if you were refused on health, safety or security grounds, or because your passport or visa was not adequate. Turning up after the gate closed is your fault, not the airline's.

What you are owed

Airlines must first ask for volunteers. Anyone who volunteers negotiates their own deal (vouchers, cash, an upgrade on the next flight) and gives up the fixed compensation below. If not enough people volunteer and you are refused anyway, you get all three of the following.

Compensation: £220 (flights up to 1,500 km), £350 (1,500 to 3,500 km) or £520 (over 3,500 km), per passenger, paid immediately at the airport in cash, bank transfer or, only if you agree in writing, vouchers. On flights over 3,500 km the amount halves to £260 if the replacement flight lands less than 4 hours after your original one. EU261 amounts are €250, €400 and €600.
Refund or re-routing: Your choice: a full refund of the ticket within 7 days (plus a flight back to where you started if you are part-way through a journey), or a seat on the next available flight, or a flight on a later date that suits you. Re-routing can be on another airline if that gets you there sooner.
Care: Meals and drinks in proportion to the wait, two phone calls or emails, and a hotel with transfers if you end up staying overnight. Keep receipts if the airline leaves you to pay and claim them back.

Denied boarding compensation is not reduced by an "extraordinary circumstances" defence. Weather, strikes and air traffic control restrictions can excuse a delay or cancellation; they cannot excuse selling your seat twice.

Downgraded instead of bumped?

If the airline kept you on the flight but moved you to a lower class than you paid for, it owes a refund of 30% of the fare for that flight (up to 1,500 km), 50% (1,500 to 3,500 km) or 75% (over 3,500 km), within 7 days. An upgrade is free: the airline cannot charge you extra for it.

What to do at the airport

Do not volunteer unless the offer beats the law. Ask what the fixed compensation is before you accept vouchers. A £200 voucher for a long-haul seat is worth less than the £520 cash you are already owed.
Get it in writing. Ask the gate staff for a written statement of the reason you were refused and for the airline's denied boarding notice (they must give you one).
Choose refund or re-routing, and say which. If you still need to travel, take the re-routing and note the new flight's arrival time; it decides whether the long-haul amount is £520 or £260.
Keep everything: boarding pass or check-in confirmation showing the time, the booking, receipts for food, taxis and hotels.
Ask for the compensation on the spot. The regulation says it is paid immediately. Most UK airlines will instead send you to their online form; that is fine, but the delay is theirs, not yours.

Not sure whether your flight qualifies?

Check your flight

Free to check. If a claim company takes the case it keeps 35% of the payout, VAT included, and nothing if the claim fails. You can also claim it yourself for free.

Claiming afterwards

If you were not paid at the airport, claim through the airline's compensation form, quoting "involuntary denied boarding" and the time you presented yourself. The airline pages on this site give the direct form for Ryanair, easyJet (its portal has a specific "denied boarding" option), British Airways, Jet2, TUI and Wizz Air.

If the airline refuses or ignores you for 8 weeks, the free dispute scheme is next: AviationADR for Ryanair, easyJet, TUI, Wizz Air and Virgin Atlantic, CEDR for British Airways, and the CAA's complaints team for airlines in neither. After that, the county court. The step-by-step guide to claiming yourself covers each stage, and the comparison of claim companies shows what each keeps if you would rather hand it over.

Two traps

"We offered you a seat on the 18:40." Being offered a later flight does not remove the compensation; it is the re-routing you are entitled to in addition to it.

"You accepted the voucher." If you took a voucher as care (a meal voucher) you have waived nothing. If you signed a volunteer form in exchange for benefits, you have given up the fixed amount, so read what you sign at the desk.

Denied boarding questions

I checked in online but was bumped at the gate. Does that still count?

Yes, if you were at the gate by the time on your boarding pass. Online check-in is presenting yourself for check-in; the gate time is the second test. Keep the boarding pass with its printed times.

The airline changed me to a smaller plane and I lost my seat. Is that overbooking?

For your purposes, yes. The regulation does not care why there were fewer seats than bookings, only that you had a booking, turned up on time, and were refused. Compensation is due.

Can the airline refuse me for not having an onward ticket or a visa?

Yes. Inadequate travel documents are an exception, and the airline decides on what the destination country requires. That refusal carries no compensation, which is why it is worth checking entry rules before you travel.

I was bumped from a flight to the UK on a US airline. Covered?

Only if the flight departed from a UK or EU airport. A US airline flying New York to London is outside UK261 and EU261; US rules apply instead. The same airline flying London to New York is covered because it left a UK airport.

Does denied boarding compensation also cover my missed connection?

If the connection was on the same booking, the airline must re-route you to your final destination and the compensation band is set by the whole journey's distance. Separate bookings are separate contracts, so a missed second flight on another ticket is usually a loss you claim on travel insurance.