[FlamesAddiction]

I found this article interesting and it gets into the legality:

http://www.popularmechanics.com/flig...senger-rights/

The short answer, according to aviation and government sources, is that airlines have a lot of leeway to remove a traveler from a plane, for any reason. "Passengers have far fewer 'rights' than they imagine," says George Hobica, president of AirfareWatchdog.com.

The issue here that took this situation from bad to worse, and led to the video that's now a deserved PR black eye for United, is the timing. "The burning question is, why did they wait until everyone was seated before realizing they needed to move their employees to that flight?" Hobica asks. Most airlines avoid having to yank someone who has already settled in to their seat. Technically, that is still considered a "denied boarding" as long as the plane is still at the gate and is permissible under the law. Just try telling that to the court of public opinion, though, once the world has seen a video like this.

So why can't a passenger simply refuse to leave, as the man in the video did? (He reportedly told the crew he was a doctor and he too needed to be at his destination the following morning for work.) Well, at that point the airline had another legal weapon: Any action or behavior that is judged to be "interfering with the flight crew" is against the law. "Interfering" is vague and can cover a broad range of passenger behavior, and can encompass almost anything that makes the flight crew feel uncomfortable.