Are mistake fares legal? Can the airline cancel your ticket?

You found a fare that's obviously a mistake - 80% off, too good to be true. Is booking it allowed? Can the airline just void it? Here's the straight answer, plus how to book one so it's most likely to stick.

By the Snagfly team
Updated 5 August 2026 · 5 min read

Key takeaways

Booking a mistake fare is legal. You're buying a fare the airline published - you've done nothing wrong.
But the airline can usually cancel it. In the US, carriers generally reserve the right to void an obvious pricing error, and they're no longer forced to honour every one.
The DOT 24-hour rule helps: you can cancel most US bookings within 24 hours for a full refund - useful if the airline voids the fare.
Protect yourself: book direct, pay by card, don't call to "confirm," and hold off on non-refundable plans until the ticket is issued.

Is it legal to book a mistake fare?

Yes. A mistake fare (or error fare) is a price an airline or its systems published by accident - a missing zero, a currency slip, a fuel-surcharge glitch. When you book one, you're simply buying a fare that was publicly available. You aren't hacking anything or breaking a rule, so there's nothing illegal about grabbing it. (New to these? See how to find mistake fares in 2026.)

The catch isn't on your side of the transaction - it's whether the airline decides to honour the price.

Can the airline cancel it?

Usually, yes. Most airlines' conditions of carriage reserve the right to cancel a booking made at an obvious pricing error. In the US, the Department of Transportation once pushed carriers to honour mistake fares, but that guidance was rolled back - so airlines are no longer required to honour every error, and many will void the most extreme ones. Whether yours sticks depends on:

How big the error was. A fare that's 20% low often sails through; one that's 95% off is far likelier to be caught.
How many people booked. A viral error fare draws attention and gets fixed fast.
The airline. Some quietly honour mistakes as goodwill; others void them routinely.

The 24-hour rule that protects you

In the US, the DOT's 24-hour rule lets you cancel most flights booked directly with an airline within 24 hours of purchase for a full refund, as long as you booked at least seven days before departure. This cuts both ways in your favour: if the airline voids your mistake fare, you're owed your money back anyway - and if you have second thoughts, you can walk away clean. It's the main reason to book direct with the airline rather than a third-party site, where refunds are messier.

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Pin the destinations you want and Snagfly watches those routes for outsized fare drops - alerting you only when a fare falls 50-90% below its verified baseline, so you book direct while it lasts.

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How to book one so it sticks

Book directly with the airline. Cleaner refunds, and third-party agencies tend to cancel error fares faster than the airline itself.
Don't call to "confirm." Book online and wait - calling often just flags the fare for a human to catch.
Pay by credit card. Chargeback rights are your backstop if the airline voids the fare and drags its feet on the refund.
Wait on the rest of the trip. Don't book non-refundable hotels or tours until you have an issued e-ticket number in hand.
Treat it as a maybe until you're flying. If it holds, wonderful; if it's cancelled, you're out nothing but a little excitement.

What if the airline cancels yours?

If a carrier voids your mistake fare, you're entitled to a full refund of what you paid - not a voucher. Ask for the refund directly; if it stalls, dispute the charge with your card issuer. Some airlines also offer a goodwill gesture (a discount to rebook at the correct price), but they're not obliged to. The one thing you should never be left with is a charge for a flight you can't take - your card is the safety net.

And if chasing error fares by hand sounds exhausting, remember they're just the extreme end of the same distribution a verified alert already watches. Pin your destinations and Snagfly flags the outsized drops on routes you'd actually book - so you catch the genuine 50-90%-off fares without living on error-fare forums.

FAQ

Are mistake fares legal to book?

Yes. A mistake fare is a publicly available price the airline published by accident, so booking one is not illegal - you've done nothing wrong. The uncertainty is only about whether the airline chooses to honour the fare, which it may not.

Can an airline cancel my mistake fare?

Usually, yes. Most airlines' conditions of carriage let them void an obvious pricing error, and in the US they are no longer required to honour every mistake fare. Whether yours sticks depends on how large the error was, how many people booked, and the airline's own practice.

Do airlines have to honour mistake fares?

Not in the US anymore. Earlier DOT guidance that pressured airlines to honour error fares was rolled back, so carriers can cancel obvious mistakes. Some still honour smaller errors as goodwill, but there's no guarantee - treat a mistake fare as a maybe until you've flown.

Will I get a refund if my mistake fare is cancelled?

Yes - if the airline voids the fare, you're owed a full refund of what you paid, not a voucher. Request it directly, and if it stalls, dispute the charge with your credit-card issuer. Booking direct and paying by card make this far easier.

How do I stop the airline from cancelling my mistake fare?

You can't guarantee it, but you can improve the odds: book directly with the airline, don't call to "confirm," pay by credit card, and avoid booking non-refundable plans until the ticket is issued. Calling attention to the fare is the fastest way to get it caught.

Keep reading

How to find mistake fares in 2026

Where error fares surface and how to catch one.

Why deal alerts should send you to the airline

Booking direct is the safest way to hold a fare.

Error fare vs flash sale vs fare alert

What each term actually means.

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About this guide: This is general information, not legal advice - airline policies and consumer rules change, so check the airline's conditions of carriage and current DOT guidance before relying on any fare. Snagfly publishes this page. All third-party names and trademarks belong to their respective owners; this page is not affiliated with or endorsed by any of them.