For every 100 available seats, 150 tickets are sold: what are your rights if you do not get a seat on the plane?

Whether you're going on vacation or trying to return home afterwards, it's safe to say that arriving at the airport and finding your flight overbooked is not a good situation. Many travelers are caught off guard by this practice, but it's actually quite common in the world of air travel.

While it may come as a surprise to vacationers, most airlines intentionally overbook flights by selling more tickets than there are seats available on the flight. This practice is not illegal and is done because airlines expect that many people who have purchased tickets will simply not show up on the day of travel," writes The Sun.

Travel experts warn that 150 tickets are sold for every 100 available seats. One airline, British Airways, admitted that in one year it overbooked about 500,000 seats, and during that time it "removed" about 24,000 customers from flights.

How do they choose the people to be bumped from the flight?

When more people show up for a flight with tickets than there are seats, airlines have to remove passengers before boarding. How they choose those who won't fly. They start by looking for volunteers who are offered compensation, usually in the form of money, a hotel room, or a seat on the next available flight.

Some companies even offer free round-trip tickets to a destination of the client's choice. However, if no one comes forward, the airline may be forced to "forcibly" remove solvent customers.

Employees can choose a passenger to remove from the flight based on the ticket price and the time of booking. They can also decide to remove from the flight those who are traveling alone or without luggage, which will then need to be returned. Customers who checked in last may also be candidates for removal. Companies can also select people randomly using a computer program. Elderly passengers and frequent flyers are unlikely to be selected first.

What are your rights if you are on an overbooked flight?

According to the legal service Which?, airlines are "legally obliged to compensate you if they deny you boarding or remove you from a flight because you overbooked it."

Passengers who are forcibly removed from a flight are entitled to monetary compensation, the amount of which depends on the time of arrival at the destination of the alternative flight.

Some passengers who do not have urgent business and want to earn extra money may voluntarily leave the flight. In such a situation, negotiations are informal, and there are no industry rules that determine how much the airline should pay you.

In 2021, lawyer Erika Kullberg shared a viral video explaining how passengers are entitled to free services from the airline if the flight is overbooked. She explained that you can get a hotel room, free meals, free transfers, as well as monetary compensation.