United Airlines has changed its passenger bumping policy in the wake of the publicity nightmare it suffered when a doctor who refused to give up his seat was dragged out of a plane by airport cops in Chicago.

Passengers will no longer be ordered off a plane if it’s overbooked — because they won’t be allowed to board in the first place. They’ll be given the bad news in a gate or lobby area.

And a United employee who needs to get to another airport to staff a different flight will have to arrive at the departure airport at least an hour before takeoff.

In the case of the doctor, booted Sunday from a flight to Louisville, the airline at first said the plane was overbooked.

Then United changed its story, saying it needed the seat for an employee who was needed for another flight. The doctor refused an offer of $800 to give up his seat.