Overbooked Flights Cause Chaos at Cancun Airport; Profeco Receives Up to 40 Complaints a Day

Cancun, Quintana Roo — Airline overbooking at Cancun International Airport is leaving passengers stranded and out of pocket, with consumer protection officials receiving up to 40 complaints a day.

The Federal Consumer Protection Agency (Profeco) module in Terminal 2 handles three to four cases daily, according to agency staff. Because one person can file a complaint on behalf of a family group of up to six members, the number of affected travelers is significantly higher. On weekends, Profeco attends to more than 100 passengers, as 10 to 12 people arrive to report different situations.

“It’s a bad practice by airlines that hurts passengers, because they are left stranded at the terminals,” said a Profeco representative. “Profeco provides support and attention so that the airline accommodates them on another flight or, if applicable, refunds their money.”

Affected passengers who asked to remain anonymous said they lost more than 5,000 pesos. “It’s awful that airlines do this. Besides being a robbery, it messes up our entire schedule and the plans we had for returning home. We lost more than 5,000 pesos, and they told us they would only refund 25 percent of each ticket,” one traveler said.

What is overbooking?

Overbooking happens when an airline sells more tickets than there are seats on a plane, based on statistical calculations that assume some passengers won’t show up. The problem arises when all passengers arrive and there aren’t enough seats, even though every traveler paid for their flight.

Mexican airlines are the most frequent offenders, according to the report. Foreign carriers operating in Mexico are not exempt, though the complaint process can be more complicated because of their international status.

Profeco has the authority to monitor, mediate, and sanction foreign airlines as long as they operate and have legal representation or an address in Mexico. However, there are jurisdictional limits when an airline has no establishment in the country or when the conflict occurs outside Mexico.

One family heading to Guadalajara said they just want to get home. “We just want them to give us attention and let us return to Guadalajara. We have to go back to work, and we don’t have money to buy more tickets or keep spending here. We want to leave, that’s all,” a family member said.

For travelers dealing with overbooking, Profeco’s Terminal 2 module is located in the central area of the airline counters, where they can request immediate conciliation for delays, cancellations, baggage issues, or other problems involving airlines with a physical presence at the airport.