Why do airlines overbook flights and what happens if you are offloaded?

Sign up to Simon Calder’s free travel email for expert advice and money-saving discounts Get Simon Calder’s Travel email Get Simon Calder’s Travel email SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. In one celebrated case, Taylor Swift fan Megan Ridout was denied boarding a British Airways flight from London Heathrow to Lyon for the city’s gig in the Eras tour. Britain’s biggest budget airline, easyJet, says: “On any given day large numbers of passengers don’t show up for their flight. Filling our planes and minimising the number of empty seats we fly is one of the ways we can reduce the price you pay for your flight.” Airlines stand to make a small fortune by selling the same seats twice: on busy flights, often the last passengers to book are desperate to travel and will pay very high fares. But UK and European regulations state: “Operating air carriers shall give priority to carrying persons with reduced mobility and any persons or certified service dogs accompanying them, as well as unaccompanied children.” In the case of British Airways offloading passengers from Palma to Gatwick, one traveller who was denied boarding asserted that business-class customers and elite members of the BA Executive Club appeared to be prioritised.