Nobody wants to be told there isn’t a seat for them, particularly for a long awaited getaway or to return home.
But there is plenty that airlines can do to soften the blow, especially if they follow the law and open their wallets.
When Massimiliano, 47, was bumped off a flight from Rome to Larnaca last summer, airline staff offered him €400 compensation and a new flight two days later. But as he waited at the hotel, he spotted something strange. His Wizz Air account had been credited with just €100 of non-exchangeable Wizz Air flight vouchers. The airline had changed its mind. Five months later, he was still fighting for the promised amount.
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Massimiliano hadn’t wanted to give up his seat – he says he was told to by Wizz Air. Being bumped or denied boarding involuntarily like this means you’re legally entitled to £220-£520 in compensation, depending on the distance and delay. That protection, known as EC261 or UK261, applies any time you fly with a UK or EU airline, or with any airline from a UK or European airport.
When Massimiliano was bumped, airline staff even gave him a ‘denied boarding’ form, committing to paying €400 in compensation. So what happened?
According to Wizz Air, Massimiliano had agreed to its ‘voluntary rebooking offer’ – an unassuming tick-box during online check-in that asks passengers whether they would consider taking a later flight if there weren’t enough seats available, in exchange for €100 Wizz Credits.
What the box doesn’t disclose is that if you tick it, the airline will apparently regard it as you surrendering your legal right to EC261 compensation and, in the process, hundreds of euros if you’re subsequently bumped.
And while the airline still has to get you to your destination, even if you agree to voluntary rebooking, volunteers also lose their legal right to paid hotel accommodation if stuck overnight.
When we asked Wizz Air why Massimiliano had been offered, then denied, €400 in compensation, it said: ‘Regrettably, this occurred due to ground handlers, who didn’t consider the voluntary offer Massimiliano had already accepted… one of the agents overlooked the voluntary [€100] offer and completed the form with the incorrect amount of €400.’
It apologised, later agreeing to pay the €400 after all, and said it was providing additional training to employees. Although Wizz Air insisted that he volunteered, Massimiliano doesn’t recall agreeing to its ‘offer’ in the slightest. Either way, Wizz Air does nothing to alert potential volunteers to the fact that if they tick the box it will treat this as agreement to less compensation than they’re legally entitled to.
Airlines are allowed to bump passengers from flights. They routinely oversell seats, expecting some passengers not to show up, in order to maximise profits. But there are rules in the UK and EU to protect passengers in this situation. Carriers can’t pick people to deny boarding until they first ask for volunteers – and advise them of their rights under EC261 or UK261.
Volunteers on European/UK routes tend to be offered amounts just over EC261 compensation. Ben, for example, got £260 and a hotel for the night after volunteering on an easyJet flight from Lisbon to Bristol in May 2025. Last November, easyJet offered Mike €300 to take a later flight from Berlin to London.
Which? member Caz also told us that she’d been offered €300 to give up seats on a flight from Istanbul to the UK. You’ll usually get the best deal at the gate when the clock is ticking – and on longer flights that can sometimes be hundreds or thousands of pounds in compensation, five-star hotel stays, upgrades and vouchers.
Haseena and her son gave up their seats on a flight last October from Stansted to South Africa, with Emirates, in return for a free return voucher to use at a future date. ‘We were put up at the Radisson Blu, with free meals… we gladly accepted and flew out a day later.’
When Tina volunteered to give up her seat on an American Airlines flight from Heathrow to North Carolina – the first leg of a two-part journey to New York City – she received around £600 for a trip that originally cost about £220, and was rebooked onto a direct Heathrow to JFK flight, arriving two hours earlier than planned.
Keep EC261 numbers in mind when weighing up offers – the airline must provide overnight accommodation, so haggle for a good hotel stay and ask for upgrades. Airlines may offer a higher value in vouchers than cash offers, but check the expiry dates.
If you’re travelling without checked luggage, say so, as airlines prefer to bump passengers without bags and you may get a better deal. It can be worth mentioning airline loyalty status, too, as higher tiers sometimes help.
Before accepting any voluntary offer, check the small print and/or ask staff whether you’re expressing interest or actually volunteering. Find out the potential delay, whether the airline will rebook you on another carrier if necessary and whether it will cover a hotel stay.
If anything is unclear, say no. If you agree to a deal, get it in writing, and ask for the staff member’s name and signature.
If you’re involuntarily bumped off a flight, ask airline staff to find volunteers. If the airline persists, state your right to EC261 compensation, accommodation and meals for the duration of the delay.
Airlines such as Wizz Air are banking on passengers being unaware of their rights, so follow our advice to make sure that your good deed doesn’t mean you ripped off.
