Oversales and Domestic Baggage – Final Rule

The U.S. Department of Transportation is issuing a final rule to revise its oversales regulation, 14 CFR Part 250, by clarifying that the maximum amount of Denied Boarding Compensation that a carrier may provide to a passenger denied boarding involuntarily is not limited, and by prohibiting airlines from involuntarily denying boarding to a passenger after the passenger’s boarding pass has been collected or scanned and the passenger has boarded, subject to safety and security exceptions. Further, pursuant to existing regulations, this final rule raises the liability limits for denied boarding compensation that U.S. and foreign air carriers may impose from the current figures of $675 and $1,350 to $775 and $1,550. Also, in accordance with existing regulations, this final rule revises 14 CFR Part 254 to raise the liability limit U.S. carriers may impose for mishandled baggage in domestic air transportation, adjusting the limit of liability from the current amount of $3,500 to $3,800.