Denied boarding on a flight

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Nekad ombordstigning på flyg - Engelska

If the airline denies you boarding, for example because the flight is overbooked, you are entitled to assistance and compensation from the airline.

Translated page: This text has been translated from Swedish. The text and appearance of the page may look different from the original page.

What rules apply if you are denied boarding?

  • If you are denied boarding against your will, you are entitled to assistance and compensation from the airline.

  • When a flight is overbooked, the airline must first ask if there are any volunteers willing to give up their seat in exchange for benefits.

  • It is always your responsibility to follow the airline’s rules, such as check-in times.

  • You must ensure that you have all the necessary travel documents required for the trip.

Find out your rights and make a claim

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If you are denied boarding, you may be entitled to both assistance and compensation from the airline. Use our flight calculator to find out what you are entitled to.

Send your claim to the airline

Always contact the airline to submit your claim. This also applies if you bought the trip through a travel agency.

Does your booking include flights operated by more than one airline? If so, you should contact the airline that was responsible for the flight.

Do you want to claim compensation for expenses? If so, it is important to include documentation showing what the expenses relate to, for example receipts. Submit your claim within 2 months.

If you don’t have any contact details for the airline, you can try looking in the terms and conditions on the airline’s website. Sometimes contact details can be found there.

Wait for a response from the airline

Once you have sent your claim to the airline, you need to wait for an answer. It usually takes a few weeks to get an answer. If you have waited more than 6 weeks without getting an answer, you can take the next step with your case.

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You can use our flight calculator to find out what you are entitled to. You can also read more about your rights below. The information applies when your flight is covered by EU rules.

The EU rules apply in the following cases:

  • When you are flying from an airport within the EU.
  • When you are flying from an airport outside the EU to an airport within the EU with an airline registered in the EU.

The rules also apply to Norway, Iceland, Switzerland, French Guiana, Guadeloupe, Martinique, Réunion, Mayotte, Saint-Martin (French Antilles), the Azores, Madeira and the Canary Islands (but not the Faroe Islands) in the same way as for all EU countries.

If your flight is not covered by EU rules, your right to compensation may be different from when EU rules apply. Contact the airline to find out what applies to your trip.

If a flight is overbooked, the airline must first ask if there is anyone who volunteers to not board the plane in exchange for compensation. The volunteers should also be offered the following options:

  • Rebooking to the next available flight
  • Rebooking to a later date.
  • A refund for the part of the ticket you were unable to use

If there were not enough volunteers the airline may have the right to deny boarding.

If you are denied boarding against your will, you have the right to assistance and compensation from the airline.

If you do not have valid travel documents

It is your responsibility to have valid travel documents. It is important that you check what documents are needed for your trip. It is your responsibility to have, for example, a valid passport, visa and valid ticket. It is also your responsibility to check in on time.

You are not entitled to assistance or compensation if you are denied boarding because of missing travel documents.

If the airline has made an error, you may be entitled to both help and compensation from the airline.

If you are denied boarding against your will, you are entitled to assistance and compensation from the airline.

Refund or rebooking

The airline should offer you the following options:

  • Rebooking to the next available flight.
  • Rebooking to a later date.
  • A refund for the part of the ticket you were unable to use.

If the trip is rebooked, it should be rebooked to a comparable trip.

In certain cases, you can get a refund and a free return trip to the departure location as soon as possible.

If your trip has lost its purpose due to the cancelled flight, you are entitled to a refund for the ticket cost, even for the part of the trip you have already used.

Food and drinks

The airline must offer you free food and drink in reasonable proportion to the waiting time. This applies if you choose to be rebooked on the next available flight, or if you choose a refund and to return to the departure airport because the trip has lost its purpose.

Accommodation

If you are delayed for one or more nights, the airline is required to pay for hotel accommodation. The airline must also cover transport between the hotel and the airport.

If the airline does not offer food, drink or accommodation

If the airline does not offer food, drink or accommodation, you can claim reimbursement for expenses that were necessary, appropriate and reasonable.

If EU rules do not apply

If EU rules do not apply to your flight, it is not sure that you can demand assistance from the airline. The rules are different in different countries. Contact the airline to find out what goes for your trip.

Even if EU rules do not apply to your trip, you might not have the right to demand compensation for damages. Read more about under “Your right to financial compensation”.

There are two different kinds of financial compensation that you may be entitled to when you have been denied boarding:

  • Compensation is about reimbursing you for the time you have lost.
  • Damages are about reimbursing you for any extra costs you incur.

Choose what you want to read more about:

What to do next if the airline rejects your claim

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Choose the option that best fits your situation. Are you unsure? Choose “Travelled with a Swedish airline”.

Do you need help understanding what you are entitled to? You may be unsure whether your claim is reasonable or want to discuss how you can proceed. Here you will find suggestions on where to turn.

Guidance from the Swedish Consumer Agency

The Swedish Consumer Agency provides free guidance. We give you information about your rights and the options you have to move forward. We cannot assess your individual case, resolve disputes or contact companies on your behalf.

Contact us

Consumer advice from your municipality

Many municipalities offer consumer advice. You can contact them for free information and support. The type of help provided varies between municipalities.

If you are resident in Sweden and the airline is registered in another EU country, Norway, Iceland or the United Kingdom, you may receive free advice from ECC Sweden. ECC Sweden is part of a network of consumer offices within the EU. In some cases, ECC Sweden can share your case with an office in another country to try to reach a solution through mediation.

How to contact ECC Sweden

To receive help with your case, you must first have submitted a claim to the airline.

You then need to send a description of the problem and documentation that shows what happened to ECC Sweden. Documentation is needed if your case is to be shared with an office in another country. Remember to keep your originals and only send copies to us.

Send your case by email to: konsumenteuropa@konsumentverket.se

Your message should include:

  • your contact details and the name of the airline
  • tickets or boarding passes
  • a copy of your complaint and the claims you have made
  • receipts
  • the airline’s response.

Once you have submitted your case, you usually receive a response within a couple of weeks.

The European Consumer Centre Sweden cannot:
  • Force a company to act according to the law. The work is based on the company being willing to cooperate with the ECC network to reach a solution.
  • Mediate in a case if we cannot identify the trader or if the trader refuses to cooperate with the ECC network.
  • Act as a legal representative or assist when the consumer has already initiated legal proceedings.
  • Assist in purchases between traders or purchases between private individuals.
Do you have questions?

ECC Sweden is part of the Swedish Consumer Agency. If you need help understanding what you are entitled to or want to discuss if and how you can proceed with your case, you can contact our advisers.

Contact us

Do you need help understanding what you are entitled to? You may be unsure whether your claim is reasonable or want to discuss how you can proceed. Here you will find suggestions on where to turn.

Guidance from the Swedish Consumer Agency

The Swedish Consumer Agency provides free guidance. We give you information about your rights and the options you have to move forward. We cannot assess your individual case, resolve disputes or contact companies on your behalf.

Contact us

Consumer advice from your municipality

Many municipalities offer consumer advice. You can contact them for free information and support. The type of help provided varies between municipalities.

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There are several different authorities that can assess your case if the airline rejects your claims. Which one depends, among other things, on the type of compensation you are claiming and the country you travelled from.

Which country did you travel from?

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Do you think the airline is breaking the rules? If so, you can submit a report to the Swedish Consumer Agency.

We do not investigate or decide on individual cases, but reports are important to us. We check that companies comply with the rules and can take action against those that do not.

Report to the Swedish consumer agency

Proofread: 30 May 2025

The content is presented in collaboration with ECC Sweden, which is part of the ECC network and the Swedish Consumer Agency's information service. ECC Sweden is part-financed by the European Union.

The content of this website represents the views of the author only and it is his/her sole responsibility; it cannot be considered to reflect the views of the European Commission and/or the European Innovation Council and Small and Medium-sized Enterprises Executive Agency (EISMEA) or any other body of the European Union. The European Commission and the Agency do not accept any responsibility for use that may be made of the information it contains.

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