On January 13, 2021, the Department of Transportation (DOT) issued a new final rule amending its rules regarding oversales and compensation due to passengers who are denied boarding involuntarily — a practice known as “bumping”. The final rule was issued in accordance with the Transparency Improvements and Compensation to Keep Every Ticketholder Safe Act of 2018 (“TICKETS Act”)[1] which required the DOT complete a rulemaking to clarify that:

  1. there is no maximum level of compensation an air carrier or foreign air carrier may pay to a passenger who is involuntarily denied boarding as the result of an oversold flight, and
  2. the denied boarding compensation levels set forth in DOT regulations are the minimum levels of compensation an air carrier or foreign air carrier must pay to a passenger who is involuntarily denied boarding as the result of an oversold flight.

The final rule prohibits airlines from involuntarily denying boarding to a revenue passenger after the revenue passenger has checked-in for the flight and the passenger’s boarding pass has been collected or scanned and the passenger has been “accepted by the gate agent”, subject to safety and security exceptions that may require removal of the passenger. In addition, the final rule states that the passenger can be removed if the passenger is engaging in behavior that is “obscene, disruptive, or otherwise unlawful.” The final rule also makes clear that it does not limit the authority of the pilot of the aircraft provided for in 14 CFR 121.533.
Continue Reading U.S. DOT issues new final rule on bumping