New Rule: Refund For Getting Bumped From a Flight in Mexico

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You get to the airport and your boarding pass says “See Agent.” This could mean a handful of things, most of which are pretty innocuous. However, it could also mean you’ve lost the flight lottery…it could mean you’ve been bumped.

There are plenty of ways to try to avoid being bumped. Just knowing how airlines prioritize who gets bumped can help you not be one of those people. But people still get bumped and, for if/when it happens in the United States, the U.S. DOT has a whole page about what happens if you’re the unlucky “bumpee.”

Being bumped from an oversold flight isn’t just something that happens in the United States, of course; it happens all over the world. Different countries treat the situation in different ways.

In Mexico, for example, the Supreme Court of Justice of the Nation just updated its rules for passengers who have been bumped due to overbooking. They’ve decreed that commercial airlines must compensate passengers who are denied boarding due to being “bumped” from an overbooked flight. This is regardless of anything the airline offers. Specifically:

• Compensation must be at least 25% of the ticket price, regardless of whether the affected person chooses to get a refund for their ticket, transportation on the first available flight, and food coverage and lodging at the expense of the airline, or the rescheduling of your flight on a date that suits the passenger.

“Therefore, commercial airlines must compensate passengers who are denied boarding due to overbooking of flights, regardless of offering them the options specified above,” as per their ruling.

Prior to the ruling last week, the Civil Aviation Law excluded compensation for those who, when bumped due to an overbooked flight, chose transportation on the first available flight, with food and lodging covered until boarding. However, in the loss of a connecting flight caused by overbooking the SCJN stated, “the responsibility of the airlines is limited to the fact that this connection forms part of the contract entered into between the same airline and the passenger.”

Passenger Rights

The first thing that the airline must do in the event of a delay by being bumped is to inform its passengers in the boarding area or by electronic means. If the airline is directly responsible for the passenger being bumped, then the passenger can choose one of the following options:

• The refund of the ticket price plus an indemnity of no less than 25% of the ticket price.
• Transportation on the first available flight, along with food, lodging, and transportation to and from the airport, plus compensation of no less than 25% of the ticket price..
• Transportation at a later date, plus compensation of no less than 25% of the ticket price.

More and more Americans are traveling to Mexico, especially Cancun, Mexico City, Puerto Vallarta, Los Cabos and Guadalajara. U.S. citizens are, by far, the largest group of tourists who visit Mexico. If you’re one of them, it’s best to know your rights, should you be bumped from a flight.

Airlines have not yet commented on the ruling, but it’s anticipated their response will be negative. It’s also been suggested that such a ruling will increase ticket fares.

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This post first appeared on Your Mileage May Vary