diff --git a/apps/edr-passenger-api/src/modules/seats/seats.service.ts b/apps/edr-passenger-api/src/modules/seats/seats.service.ts
index 708f57792..c85b49bbf 100644
--- a/apps/edr-passenger-api/src/modules/seats/seats.service.ts
+++ b/apps/edr-passenger-api/src/modules/seats/seats.service.ts
@@ -280,7 +280,15 @@ export class SeatsService {
         throw new NotFoundException(`Seat(s) not found: ${missing.join(', ')}`);
       }
 
-      const blocked = seats.filter(s => s.status === 'BLOCKED' || s.status === 'BOOKED');
+      // Only the raw BLOCKED status (seat pulled out of service — a genuine
+      // cross-schedule flag) is trusted here. BOOKED is intentionally NOT checked
+      // against this raw column: the same physical Seat row is reused across every
+      // recurring date a coach runs, and Seat.status only resets to AVAILABLE via a
+      // trip-completion event that isn't guaranteed to fire, so a stale BOOKED value
+      // here would wrongly block a seat that's actually free for this schedule/leg.
+      // The schedule- and leg-scoped SeatHold/JourneySegment checks below are the
+      // authoritative source for whether a seat is actually taken.
+      const blocked = seats.filter(s => s.status === 'BLOCKED');
       if (blocked.length > 0)
         throw new ConflictException(`Seat(s) ${blocked.map(s => s.seatNumber).join(', ')} are already taken`);