NEW YORK, April 11 ― Video footage capturing the forcible removal of a passenger from an overbooked United Airlines flight has gone viral, inciting outrage on the internet and raising questions about passenger rights.

Captured by fellow passengers on a domestic US flight departing from Chicago's O'Hare International Airport, videos posted on Facebook and Twitter show enforcement officers pulling a screaming passenger from out of his window seat.

The officer's brutal use of force causes the passenger to knock his head against the armrest across the aisle, knocking his glasses off, busting open his lip and silencing him, despite the pleas from fellow passengers.

"Guys this is not right,” says one concerned passenger to the enforcement officers. 

As the man is pulled out and dragged out of his seat, fellow passengers can be heard gasping at the use of disproportionate force and the passenger's bloody face and exclamations of "Oh my God, no!” and "This is wrong.”

The man, who refused to deplane, saying he was a doctor who needed to get to his destination to treat patients, was removed when no one volunteered to get off the overbooked flight, according to fellow passenger Audra D. Bridges, who shared the post on her Facebook page.

For their part, United tweeted a curt reply to complaints on Twitter:  "@USAnonymous Flight 3411 from Chicago to Louisville was overbooked. After our team looked for volunteers, one customer refused to leave ^MD.” 

Along with horrifying air travellers, the incident may bring up questions of passenger rights when it comes to overbooked flights and denied boarding:

Here's a quick primer:

In the US:

In an interview with the Courrier-Journal, Bridges said United offered US$400 (RM1,774) and a hotel stay to volunteers who would be willing to take a later flight to Louisville. The offer was upped to US$800 but there were still no takers, and a computer was used to randomly select four people to deplane.

In the US, when a passenger is involuntarily bumped from their flight due to overbooking, flyers are entitled to a refund depending on what they paid and their individual circumstance.

If you are bumped involuntarily and the airline arranges substitute transportation that is scheduled to get you to your final destination (including later connections) within one hour of your original scheduled arrival time, there is no compensation.

If the airline arranges substitute transportation that is scheduled to arrive at your destination between one and two hours after your original arrival time (or between one and four hours on international flights), the airline must pay you an amount equal to 200 per cent of your one-way fare to your final destination that day, with a US$675 maximum.

If the substitute transportation is scheduled to get you to your destination more than two hours later (four hours internationally), or if the airline does not make any substitute travel arrangements for you, the compensation doubles (400 per cent of your one-way fare, US$1,350 maximum).

Note: You always get to keep your original ticket and use it on another flight. If you choose to make your own arrangements, you can request an "involuntary refund” for the ticket for the flight you were bumped from. The denied boarding compensation is essentially a payment for your inconvenience.

If you paid for optional services on your original flight (e.g., seat selection, checked baggage) and you did not receive those services on your substitute flight or were required to pay a second time, the airline that bumped you must refund those payments to you.

US Department of Transportation

For air travel in the EU:

At the time of overbooking, the airline must first ask for passengers who are voluntarily willing to give up their reservations for a compensation. In the event there are not enough volunteers, airlines must compensate those who are denied boarding against their will. The amount of compensation depends on the distance.

€250 for all flights of 1,500 kilometres or less:

€400 for all intra-Community flights of more than 1,500 kilometres, and for all other flights between 1,500 and 3,500 kilometres

€600 for all other flights. ― AFP-Relaxnews