Easyjet kicks couple off flight after overbooking

Budget airline Easyjet is facing criticism after it was revealed to have ejected a British couple from a flight bound for Italy after it overbooked the plane’s seats last week.

The issue of airline overbookings took off last week when a United Airlines passenger was forcibly ejected from a flight which was due to leave from Chicago O’Hare International Airport, just one day before the Easyjet incident.

The pair had booked to depart from Luton Airport to Catania for a holiday, but were asked to leave the plane after they were informed that the flight had been overbooked.

Easyjet advised the customers that they would have to wait another four days for the next available flight to Catania, despite stipulations in EU law which require airlines to book affected passengers on another flight on the same day. The couple cancelled the trip as a result.

Easyjet apologised for the incident and said that it was caused by a "manual error"

According to EU passenger legislation, "If boarding is denied to passengers against their will, the operating air carrier shall immediately compensate them", in addition to booking a replacement flight.

Easyjet, the UK’s biggest budget airline, apologised for the incident and said that it was caused by a "manual error".

"Whilst [the passengers] were emailed a link to the web page for EU261 compensation applications and the website clearly outlines our policies, we accept that our agents could have pointed this out more explicitly," Easyjet said.

"The circumstances were very unusual and resulted from a manual error at the gate."

United's market value plummeted by as much as $1bn last week after videos were uploaded to social media of airline authorities violently removing a doctor from his seat before a flight took off, forcing CEO Oscar Muñoz to apologise for how the airline handled the incident.

In a statement released by United in response to the uproar, the company said that it had asked passengers to give up their seats voluntarily but none agreed to do so, forcing them to select from among the travellers themselves.