Denied boarding compensation: what you're owed and how to claim it

Denied boarding compensation is the cash an airline owes you when it bumps you from a flight you had a confirmed seat on, checked in for on time, and reached the gate for on time. In the US it is 200% or 400% of your one-way fare, capped at $1,075 and $2,150, depending on how late you reach your destination. In the EU it is a flat €250, €400 or €600 by distance, and in the UK £220, £350 or £520. The airline must pay it on the day, in money, and you can refuse a voucher.

On this page

• What counts as denied boarding
• How much is denied boarding compensation in the US?
• Worked examples with the arithmetic
• EU, UK and Canada: the flat-rate amounts
• Voluntary denied boarding
• When no compensation is due
• How to claim compensation for denied boarding
• The email to send
• FAQ

What counts as denied boarding (and what does not)

Airlines sell more seats than the plane holds because some people do not show up. When everyone does, someone stays behind: an oversale, and the person left at the gate has been denied boarding, or bumped. There are two kinds, and the money is different for each.

• Voluntary denied boarding. The airline asks for volunteers and you accept an offer. Whatever you negotiate is what you get; there is no legal minimum.
• Involuntary denied boarding. Not enough people volunteered and the airline picks you. This is the case the law covers: you get a written statement of your rights, and compensation is set by regulation, not by the agent.

The US rules are in 14 CFR 250.5, explained on the US Department of Transportation bumping page. The EU rules are Regulation 261/2004, summarised on Your Europe; the UK kept the same regulation with sterling amounts, published by the Civil Aviation Authority. Canada's flat rates come from the Canadian Transportation Agency. All four were checked on the day this was written.

Three things are not denied boarding, even though they feel like it: a cancelled flight, a flight that leaves late with you on it, and a seat downgrade, which earns a refund of the fare difference instead.

How much is denied boarding compensation in the US?

For an involuntary bump from a US airport, the amount depends on your one-way fare and how late the replacement flight gets you to your destination or first stopover. The figures were last raised by the October 2024 revision effective 22 January 2025; DOT reviews them every two years.

Flight type	You arrive	Compensation
Domestic	Within 1 hour of original arrival	Nothing
Domestic	1 to 2 hours late	200% of one-way fare, maximum $1,075
Domestic	More than 2 hours late, or no replacement offered	400% of one-way fare, maximum $2,150
International, departing the US	Within 1 hour	Nothing
International, departing the US	1 to 4 hours late	200% of one-way fare, maximum $1,075
International, departing the US	More than 4 hours late, or no replacement offered	400% of one-way fare, maximum $2,150

Five conditions, all from the DOT page, decide whether the table applies to you:

• You had a confirmed reservation. Standby does not count.
• You checked in before the airline's deadline in your ticket conditions.
• You were at the gate on time. Stuck in security is a missed flight, not a bump.
• The plane carries 30 or more passengers. Smaller aircraft and charters are outside the rule.
• The flight departs from a US airport. Flights into the US follow the departure country's rules, if it has any.

The "fare" is what you paid for the leg you were bumped from. On a free or award ticket the regulation uses the lowest cash fare charged for the same class on that flight, so a zero on your receipt does not mean zero compensation. Airlines may pay more than the minimum.

Worked examples with the arithmetic

These are examples, not real cases, to show how the percentage and the cap interact.

Example 1, cheap domestic fare. You paid $140 one way from Denver to Phoenix and the rebooked flight lands 3 hours after your original. More than 2 hours late, domestic, so 400%. 400% of $140 is $560, under the $2,150 cap, so you are owed $560 in cash or check, not the $200 voucher the agent first mentions.

Example 2, expensive domestic fare. You paid $700 one way and the replacement arrives 90 minutes late. That is the 1 to 2 hour band, so 200%. 200% of $700 is $1,400, but the cap for that band is $1,075, so you are owed $1,075.

Example 3, international from the US. You paid $1,200 one way to London and no replacement is offered until tomorrow. More than 4 hours, so 400%. 400% of $1,200 is $4,800, capped at $2,150, plus a refund of paid extras (seat, bags) you will not use on the new flight.

The check: multiply your one-way fare by 2 or 4, then take the lower of that and the cap. The band is measured on arrival, so photograph the board showing the new arrival time.

EU, UK and Canada: the flat-rate amounts

Outside the US the compensation is a fixed sum, not a multiple of your fare, so it is easier to work out and harder to argue down.

Regime	Band	Compensation	Reduced amount
EU (Regulation 261/2004)	1,500 km or less	€250	€125 if rerouted and you arrive under 2 hours late
EU	Over 1,500 km inside the EU, or 1,500 to 3,500 km	€400	€200 if you arrive under 3 hours late
EU	Over 3,500 km	€600	€300 if you arrive under 4 hours late
UK (UK261)	Under 1,500 km	£220	£110 if you arrive under 2 hours late
UK	1,500 to 3,500 km	£350	£175 if under 3 hours late
UK	Over 3,500 km	£520	£260 if under 4 hours late
Canada (APPR)	Arrive under 6 hours late	CAD 900	No reduction
Canada	6 to 9 hours late	CAD 1,800	No reduction
Canada	9 hours or more late	CAD 2,400	No reduction

The EU and UK rules apply to any flight departing an EU or UK airport, and to flights arriving there on an EU or UK airline. On top of the cash you keep the right to a refund or a replacement flight, meals while you wait, and a hotel if the new flight is the next day. Canada's regime applies when the bump is within the airline's control and not required for safety; it pays within 48 hours, in money unless you agree in writing to something worth more.

EU example: bumped from Paris to Rome (about 1,100 km), the €250 band. Rerouted and landing 1 hour 45 minutes late, under the 2 hour threshold, the airline may halve it to €125. Landing 2 hours 10 minutes late, the full €250 is due.

Voluntary denied boarding: when you take the offer

Airlines must ask for volunteers before bumping anyone, and in the US they must tell volunteers what the involuntary payment would be. That is your negotiating floor: if the regulated payment is $1,075 in cash, a $400 voucher is a bad trade.

Before you say yes, get four answers written on the offer:

• When is the next flight you are confirmed on, not standing by for?
• Is the offer cash, a card credit, or a voucher? If a voucher: expiry, blackout dates, and whether it works on international and partner flights.
• Will the airline cover a hotel, meals and ground transport if the new flight is tomorrow?
• Do you keep your fare class, seat and paid extras?

Volunteers in the EU and UK give up the fixed compensation but keep the right to a refund or rerouting and to care. Volunteers in the US give up the regulated payment entirely, so negotiate from the involuntary figure; the agent knows what it is.

When no compensation is due

The US regulation lists situations where the airline can leave you behind without paying. You still get a refund or rebooking, just not the fixed compensation.

• The airline swapped in a smaller aircraft for operational or safety reasons.
• The plane has 60 or fewer seats and weight or balance limits apply.
• You were downgraded, not left behind; you get the fare difference back.
• The flight is a charter or carries fewer than 30 passengers.
• The flight departs from outside the US.
• You were refused for a contract-of-carriage reason that is not an oversale: intoxication, interfering with crew, disruptive behaviour, or missing travel documents.

The EU and UK list is shorter: nothing is owed if the airline had reasonable grounds such as health, safety, security or inadequate travel documents. "We oversold" is never a reasonable ground.

How to claim compensation for denied boarding

In the US you should not have to claim at all: the airline must pay at the airport on the day, or within 24 hours if your replacement flight leaves first. In practice this is where things go wrong.

1. Ask for the written statement of your rights before you leave the gate. Photograph it.
2. Get the involuntary figure in writing, with the one-way fare and the new arrival time the airline is using. If offered a voucher, say you prefer the cash or check amount. Under Part 250 you have 30 days to decide whether to take the payment, and accepting it settles the claim.
3. Keep every document: boarding pass, fare receipt, new itinerary, the agent's name, departure board photos.
4. If you leave without payment, email customer relations within a week. Quote 14 CFR 250.5 (US) or Article 4 of Regulation 261/2004 (EU), attach the documents, state the exact sum (template below) and give them 14 days.
5. If they refuse or ignore you, complain to the regulator: the Department of Transportation in the US (via the bumping page linked above), the CAA or the airline's dispute resolution body in the UK, the national enforcement body of the departure country in the EU, the Canadian Transportation Agency in Canada.
6. Last resort: small claims court, or the county court in the UK. Airlines often settle once a claim is issued.

If the airline will not refund an unused ticket at all, a card dispute is a separate route; see chargeback vs Section 75. Card issuers chase refunds, not compensation.

The email to send when the airline offers less

Copy this, fill in the brackets and send it to the airline's customer relations address.

Subject: Involuntary denied boarding compensation, flight [XX123], [date], booking [ABC123]

Dear [Airline] Customer Relations,

On [date] I was denied boarding involuntarily on flight [XX123] from [origin] to [destination]. I held a confirmed reservation, checked in at [time] and was at the gate at [time]. I was rebooked on flight [XX456], which arrived at [time], [X hours Y minutes] after my original scheduled arrival.

Under 14 CFR 250.5 I am entitled to [200% / 400%] of my one-way fare of $[fare], which is $[amount], [capped at $1,075 / $2,150]. At the gate I was offered [a $X voucher / nothing]. I decline the voucher and request payment of $[amount] by check or to my card within 14 days, together with a refund of $[extras] for [seat selection / baggage] not provided on the replacement flight.

Attached: boarding pass, receipt, rebooked itinerary, photo of the written statement of rights [or a note that none was given].

If I do not receive payment within 14 days I will complain to the US Department of Transportation and pursue the sum in small claims court.

[Name]
[Address, phone, booking reference]

For an EU or UK flight, swap the legal line for "Under Articles 4 and 7 of Regulation (EC) 261/2004 [or UK261] I am entitled to €[250 / 400 / 600]" and drop the fare arithmetic. Our complaint letter guide covers tone, deadlines and what to do when the first reply is a form letter.

Do not accept a voucher "for now" planning to argue later, because accepting it can settle the claim, and do not let the airline log a bump as a "schedule change", which carries no fixed compensation.

FAQ

How much is denied boarding compensation in the US?

For involuntary bumps from a US airport: 200% of your one-way fare, capped at $1,075, if the replacement arrives 1 to 2 hours late on a domestic route (1 to 4 hours international), and 400% capped at $2,150 if later or if no replacement is offered. Within an hour of your original arrival, nothing is owed. Source: 14 CFR 250.5.

Do I get compensation if I volunteered to give up my seat?

Only what you negotiated. Volunteers sit outside the fixed compensation rules in the US, the EU and the UK, which is why airlines ask for volunteers first. You keep the right to a refund or a replacement flight and, in the EU and UK, to meals and a hotel. Ask what the involuntary payment would be and treat it as your floor.

Can the airline pay denied boarding compensation in vouchers?

Not if you say no. In the US the airline may offer free or reduced-rate travel instead of cash, but only if it is worth at least as much, tells you the cash amount and tells you that you can decline. In Canada and the EU and UK the default is money, and a voucher needs your written agreement.

What if I checked in late or was on standby?

Then it is not denied boarding under the rules. The US regulation requires a confirmed reservation, check-in before the airline's deadline and arrival at the gate on time. Miss any of those and the airline can refuse you without paying the fixed compensation, though its own policy on rebooking or refunds still applies.

How long does the airline have to pay?

In the US, at the airport on the same day, or within 24 hours if your replacement flight leaves before payment can be made. In Canada, within 48 hours of the denial. The EU and UK regulations require payment but set no number of hours, which is why a written demand with a 14-day deadline matters.

Does denied boarding compensation apply on flights into the US from abroad?

No. The DOT rule covers flights departing US airports. A flight from Europe to the US falls under EU or UK rules, which pay a flat €600 or £520 for long-haul bumps. From a country with no passenger rights law, only the airline's contract of carriage applies, so read it and ask what the airline offers.