The decision is aimed at protecting passengers’ rights and preventing situations where travelers with confirmed tickets are denied boarding.

Overbooking is the practice of selling more airline tickets than the actual number of seats available on an aircraft.

While the approach is widely used by airlines in some countries, it often leads to situations where passengers are unable to board and are forced to wait for the next flight or change their travel plans.

Under the new requirements, all airlines operating through Kyrgyzstan’s airports have to stop overselling tickets and sell seats only within the actual capacity of the aircraft.

In addition, if a carrier is forced to replace an aircraft with one having fewer seats, passengers should be offered a choice: either voluntarily transfer their flight to the nearest available departure or receive a full refund of the ticket price.

The State Civil Aviation Agency has also instructed airlines to promptly bring their ticket sales procedures into compliance with the new requirements and provide staff training.