Which term denotes compensation owed to a passenger who is bumped if the airline cannot get them to their destination within the originally scheduled time?

• A. Domestic Air Travel
• B. Discount Fare
• C. Direct Flight
• D. Denied Boarding Compensation

Answer: (D)

When a passenger is involuntarily bumped because the airline can’t get them to their destination within the originally scheduled time, the payment the airline must provide is called denied boarding compensation. This term specifically codifies the money or other remedies owed to someone who loses their seat due to overbooking or capacity constraints and ends up arriving later than planned. The idea is to compensate for the disruption to their travel plans, not for a general delay or for price differences.

It’s useful to remember that other terms describe the trip or the fare, not the compensation itself. Domestic air travel refers to travel within one country, discount fare is a lower-price ticket, and a direct flight is a flight with no stops. None of these describe the obligation to compensate a passenger who is denied boarding.