Overbooking should be illegal, but it's not, so if you don't check in by the airline's time limit, usually 30 minutes at smaller airports, and 45 min to 1 hour at larger ones, the airline owes you nothing. It's an easy excuse not to have to bump someone else, because it's actually your fault for arriving late. Everyone needs to know that every airline is chronically short staffed, there is additional security screening required, and airline personnel are under tremendous pressure not to leave 1 minute late. You cannot simply waltz through the front door at any airport 30 minutes prior to departure and expect to get through the process without hassle. It's especially important to check-in early whenever a flight is overbooked.
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