ANSWER · UK 261 AND EC 261
What counts as involuntary denied boarding?
Art. 4(1) requires the carrier to call for volunteers first. Denied boarding becomes involuntary under Art. 4(2) where too few volunteers come forward and the airline refuses boarding against the passenger's will. Only involuntary denial carries the Art. 7 compensation; a passenger who accepted benefits to give up a seat has agreed a different deal.
REVIEWED AGAINST RULE SET V6 AND THE CITED PRIMARY SOURCES · UPDATED 7 AUGUST 2026
The sequence Art. 4 sets out
- The carrier reasonably expects to deny boarding, and first calls for volunteers to surrender reservations in exchange for benefits.
- Volunteers who come forward negotiate those benefits, and separately keep the Art. 8 choice of refund or re-routing.
- If too few volunteers come forward, the carrier may deny boarding against passengers' will.
- Those passengers are compensated immediately under Art. 7 and assisted under Articles 8 and 9.
Situations that are still involuntary
- An aircraft change to a smaller type leaves fewer seats than reservations.
- A weight and balance restriction means some booked passengers are offloaded.
- The seat was resold or the reservation was cancelled without notice.
- You were told at the gate that the flight was full despite a confirmed reservation.
What our rule set does with this
The free check asks whether the denial was against your will, and a voluntary answer stops the compensation branch of the assessment rather than sending an unfounded demand to the airline. That question exists because Art. 4(2) draws the line there.
SOURCES
- Regulation (EC) No 261/2004, Art. 4(1) · EUR-Lex · checked 7 August 2026
- Regulation (EC) No 261/2004, Art. 4(2) · EUR-Lex · checked 7 August 2026
- Regulation (EC) No 261/2004, Art. 7 · EUR-Lex · checked 7 August 2026
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