Outrage as FlySafair admits to overbooking flights

Outrage has erupted on social media after South African airline company FlySafair admitted to overbooking flights.

The controversy started when a customer, Thato Miles Nsala, took to X to express frustration after arriving at the airport, only to be told that there were no seats available despite having booked a flight.

“We showed up at the airport, and FlySafair said we didn’t have seats for the same flight we paid for. If you have 200 seats, why take payments for 300 passengers?” Nsala said.

FlySafair apologised for the inconvenience and explained that overbooking is a common practice in the company to keep prices affordable.

“While we understand the importance of passengers reaching their destination on time and on the flight that they have paid for, we do overbook flights to ensure we keep our tickets as affordable as possible for our passengers,” FlySafair said.

“We do see how inconvenient this can be and therefore offer compensation for passengers who were not able to take the flight they booked.

“We'd like to apologise to all passengers who have been denied boarding due to overbooking. We know how disappointing this can be. We are committed to transparency and customer satisfaction.”

Citing an article by Forbes, FlySafair explained why overbooking is necessary.

“Aircraft have a fixed number of seats, and once the flight takes off that seat 'spoils' and can no longer be sold. Every ticket sold is not a guarantee that the passenger will actually show up. People no-show for a lot of reasons. They could arrive late, get caught in the bar and hear the wrong 'last call' announcement, or be caught in the security lane. 

“The industry knows people don’t show up all the time, so the probability of each booking becoming a passenger at the gate is not one [that is high]. Without overbooking, the airline would have more empty seats, and everyone would need to pay a higher fare to cover the empty seat costs.”

However, this justification did not sit well with many customers on X. Many expressed their dissatisfaction, citing the impact overbooking has on customers, including missed important appointments and disrupted travel plans:

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