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In case the viral video of police violently dragging a man off an overbooked United Airlines flight didn’t make it clear, let us repeat: Airlines often have more passengers than available seats and some carriers, apparently, aren’t afraid to kick you off.
警察暴力地把一名男子从一架超售的联合航空公司航班中强行拉走，如果这个疯狂传播的视频还不够清楚的话，我们再重复一遍：航空公司经常会有多于可用客座数的乘客，而且一些公司显然并不怕把你踢走。
1. Why are there more tickets than seats?
为什么机票会比座位多呢？
Airlines frequently sell more seats on their flights than the airplane holds, a way to guard against passengers who cancel or somehow fail to make it to the airport. It’s legal and no airline wants to give passengers compensation, so United’s incident also exposes a poorly managed inventory system.
与飞机可载乘客数相比，航空公司经常会售出更多的机票，以此防止乘客取消航班或由于某种未知原因而无法到达机场。这是合法的，而且没有哪家航空公司想给乘客补偿，所以联合航空的事件也暴露了（航空公司）管理不善的库存系统。
2. Do I have to get off the airplane?
我一定要下飞机吗？
Yes. There are two ways passengers can be denied boarding: voluntarily and involuntarily. The US Department of Transportation requires airlines to first seek volunteers to take a later flight and carriers will generally offer compensation in the form of a voucher for future travel.
是的。乘客可能会被拒绝登机并且有两种方式：自愿的和非自愿的。美国交通部要求航空公司首先寻找自愿换乘随后航班的乘客，而且航空公司一般会为乘客提供代金券形式的补偿用于未来出行。
3. What if no one wants to take another flight?
如果没人想换乘其他航班怎么办？
This is where airlines get nervous, and passengers should too. Without volunteers, airlines can pick passengers at random to get bumped. The Department of Transportation and airlines’ contracts of carriage spell out the amount of compensation, which depends on the fare and how long it will be before bumped passenger can fly.
这就是航空公司紧张不安的地方，而且乘客也应为此而紧张。没有自愿的乘客，航空公司就可以随机挑选顾客赶下飞机。交通部以及航空公司的运输合同详细说明了补偿金额，而这取决于票价以及被赶下飞机的乘客多久才能启程。
The passenger in the video was reportedly a doctor who refused to be bumped because he had patients scheduled the next day, according to the Courier-Journal.
据《信使日报》报道，视频中拒绝下飞机的乘客是一名医生，因为他第二天有预约的病人。
4. Can an airline forcibly remove me?
航空公司可以强行赶我走吗？
Yes. Airlines have a low bar for kicking passengers off planes. An airline can remove you from a flight for screaming at passengers, singing, or even for smelling badly.
是的。航空公司在赶乘客下飞机上有较低的限制。一家航空公司可以因你朝乘客大喊大叫，唱歌，甚至是身上有异味等理由把你赶下飞机。
Under those rules, the United crew generally would be allowed to deem the passenger a security risk merely for his refusal to obey crew instructions. That brings on airport security or the police.
在这样的规定下，联合航空的机组人员通常会被允许认定这名乘客为危险分子，仅仅因为这名乘客拒绝遵守机组人员的指令，而这会招来机场安检人员或警察。
5. Isn’t there a better way?
难道没有更好的方式吗？
Probably. Higher compensation to the passengers might have drawn more volunteers, and saved the airline from yet another public-relations black eye.
可能有。给予乘客更高的补偿也许会吸引更多自愿换乘的乘客，并且使航空公司免于进行再一次的丑闻公关。
