May 24, 2026
Traveling can be a hassle under the best of circumstances, but when things go wrong, it can turn into a major nightmare. The U.S. Department of Transportation reports that around 78.5% of flights have been on time in 2026, which leaves plenty of flyers facing missed connections or long waits at the airport.
The big question on the minds of many travelers is: What happens if something goes really wrong? When does the airline owe you compensation for your troubles?
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Let’s pretend, for example, that Alice and Tim were traveling on a British Airways flight that left from Los Angeles and was destined for Greece, with a stopover at London’s Heathrow Airport. Their first flight was delayed by two hours, but they ran through the airport and arrived at their departure gate 10 minutes before boarding closed.
Unfortunately, they were denied boarding and told the airline had given their seats away. Alice and Tim are understandably frustrated, especially given that they were put on a much later plane and were five hours late getting to their destination. Now they want to know if they’re owed any money from the airline.
Are you owed compensation if an airline gave your seats away?
The compensation you may be able to get when you’re denied boarding actually varies a lot depending on the circumstances.
In this particular case, Alice and Tim were in London when this happened. There are lots of British laws that provide compensation for air travel issues under a regulation informally known as Regulation UK261. Under this law, you are entitled to:
- Up to £520 (equal to around $698) if you’re flying to or from the United Kingdom, your flight is delayed for more than three hours, you missed your connection and it’s the airline’s fault.
- Up to £520 per passenger if you are denied boarding due to overbooking, if you are flying to or from the U.K.
So whether this is treated as a missed connection or an overbooking issue due to the seats being given away, the couple is likely entitled to compensation.
In the U.S., on the other hand, things aren’t so clear. You are entitled to compensation for overbooking if you’re involuntarily bumped and you’re over an hour late to your scheduled destination because of it. You could be entitled to the lesser of:
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- 200% of your one-way fare cost or $1,075, whichever amount is lower, for delays between one and two hours (or one and four hours for international flights)
- 400% of your fare or $2,150 if you’re more than two hours late (four hours internationally).
However, you must be at your gate before the check-in deadline. If you’re running to your connection with minutes to spare because the first leg of your flight with the same airline got you in late, you certainly have an argument to make that you should be treated as being “on time” and should be compensated for the airline giving away your seats.
Unfortunately, if this is treated as a missed connection because you were late getting to the gate, you’re probably out of luck because there’s no automatic compensation required for missed connections due to your own tardiness. There’s also no general required compensation for delayed flights in the U.S.
You could get an automatic refund if you missed a connection because the flight before was seriously delayed and you don’t take the rebooking. But if you hopped on a later flight, that option isn’t available.
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Understanding your rights as a passenger
The U.S. Department of Transportation provides some protections to travelers, but they are limited. You can learn about your rights as an airline passenger on the DOT’s website. Specifically:
- You’re entitled to a refund if you missed a connection due to a delay on your previous flight and you don’t accept the rebooking.
- You’re also entitled to compensation for overbooking if you’re involuntarily bumped, which is the compensation described above.
- If you’re stuck on the tarmac, the airline must provide food and water within two hours, and the airline must leave the tarmac if the delay is more than three hours for a domestic flight, unless there is a safety or security reason not to.
Unfortunately, though, consumer protections in the U.S. are much more limited than in the U.K. or EU.
If you have concerns, you can file a complaint with the U.S. DOT, or talk with your airline’s customer service department to see what help, if any, they’re willing to voluntarily offer, even if the law doesn’t entitle you to a remedy.
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Christy Bieber has 15 years of experience as a personal finance and legal writer. She has written for many publications including Forbes, Kilplinger, CNN, WSJ, Credit Karma, Insurify and more.
