International airlines will pay up to US$600 in compensation to passengers if they are denied boarding on a flight for which they have a reservation, according to proposals contained in a draft Ghana Civil Aviation (Economic) Directives on Consumer Protection.

According to aviationghana, the draft Directives, which were discussed at a stakeholders forum in Accra, provides that if an air operator reasonably expects to deny boarding on a flight due to overbooking or a sudden change in aircraft type, it shall first call for volunteers to surrender their reservation in exchange for benefits under conditions to be agreed between the passenger concerned and the air operator.

The Directives, a copy of which is available to http://www.aviationghana.com provide that if an insufficient number of volunteers come forward to allow the remaining passengers with reservation to board the flight, the operating air operator may then deny boarding to passengers against their will, for which denied passengers will be entitled to US$600 as compensation and a reimbursement of the full cost of the ticket at the price at which it was bought.

The draft Directives became imperative following the ratification of the of the Montreal Convention in 2015 by Parliament. It is expected to be finalized for implementation after extensive stakeholder consultations.