Colombia’s civil aviation authority, Aerocivil, has announced changes to laws governing overbooking on passenger planes, Caracol Radio reported Wednesday.
Aerocivil’s director, Santiago Castro, acknowledged that airlines all over the world utilise an overbooking policy which is based on the formula that a number of passengers will simply not turn up at the airport. However, Castro admitted that this system does not work well during peak periods.
With that in mind he stated that the laws allowing airlines to overbook will be not include high season months such as January and April.
Castro also advised customers that if their flight is overbooked, they have the right to be transferred on to the next flight and the airline must also ensure it makes up for any of its passengers’ missed connections.
Castro has invited the public to post comments and complaints about the issue on the Aerocivil’s website.