Missed Your Connecting Flight Due To A Delay? Claim Compensation For Your Missed Connection

If you have arrived at your final destination more than three hours later than scheduled because of a missed connection, you may be able to claim flight compensation if the delay was not due to an extraordinary circumstance.

What Happens If You Miss A Connecting Flight?

Under EU Regulation 261, you can claim compensation up to £520 if your flight delay means you missed your connecting flight and arrived at your final destination more than three hours late.

Additionally, the airline is responsible for booking you on the next available flight on any airline and providing care and assistance, including accommodation if necessary.

You can claim compensation for missing your connecting flight if:

• You missed your connecting flight due to a delay, cancellation, or overbooking of a flight before your connection
• Your connecting flight is part of the same booking as the first flight
• The cause of your missed connection wasn’t because of an extraordinary circumstance
• Your missed connection was not caused by arriving at the departure gate late or not having the necessary travel documents to board the plane
• Your flight took off or landed in the UK or EU and is eligible under EU Reg 261
• Your flight departure was scheduled in the last six years.

How To Claim Flight Compensation For A Missed Connection

If you have missed your connection, we recommend that you ask the airline for confirmation of the cause of your delayed flight, collect all relevant documentation, and exercise your rights to care and assistance.

Knowing who to claim against and who might be responsible might not be straightforward. Add your details to our flight delay compensation calculator, and we will tell you how much you may be able to claim.

What Flights Are Eligible When Claiming Compensation For A Missed Connecting Flight?

If you arrived at your final destination more than three hours late, the following flights are eligible if a missed connection caused the delay.

• Your scheduled flight departed from a UK or EU airport on any airline
• Your scheduled flight was on a UK or EU airline and arrived at a UK or EU airport

How Much Compensation Can I Claim For A Missed Connection?

The amount of compensation you can claim for a missed connecting flight will depend on the length of your delay and the distance of the flight.

The maximum compensation you can claim for a missed connection is £520 per passenger. The compensation amounts for flight delays and cancellations are fixed and unrelated to the ticket cost or the class of the fare you booked.

Our table below shows how much compensation you could claim if you have been delayed because of a missed connection.

Can I Claim A Refund For A Missed Connecting Flight?

If your missed connection causes a delay for more than five hours and you no longer wish to travel, you are entitled to a refund from the airline.

Additionally, if the flight is cancelled and the airline doesn’t offer you, or you choose not to accept the airline’s replacement flight, you are entitled to a full refund of your flights.

What Other Rights Do I Have If I’ve Missed My Connecting Flight?

Under EU Reg261, the airline that caused the delay is legally responsible for providing “care and assistance” to passengers who have missed their connection, and it is not your fault.

Care and assistance includes:

• Free meals and refreshments
• Two phone calls or emails
• Free hotel accommodation and transport to and from the hotel

When Isn’t The Airline Responsible For Compensation If I’ve Missed My Connecting Flight?

The airline would not be liable to pay compensation if the delay or cancellation that caused the missed connection was an extraordinary circumstance.

An extraordinary circumstance is when the reason for the delay is considered out of the usual and outside of the airline’s control.

Examples Of Extraordinary Circumstances Include:

• Extreme and unexpected weather conditions
• Strikes and industrial action, including strikes unrelated to the airline, such as air traffic control strikes, baggage handler strikes, or border force strikes
• Air traffic control decisions affecting flight scheduling
• Hidden manufacturing defects or technical issues with the plane
• Bird strikes, flying into and damaging the engine
• A passenger or member of airline staff taken ill on the flight, including a medical emergency on board
• An unruly passenger on the flight
• Acts of terrorism or civil unrest
• Foreign and Commonwealth Office travel bans
• Security risks
• Disease outbreaks
• Disruptions to airspace, including drones.
• Unexpected IT outages that are beyond the responsibility of the airline

Extraordinary circumstances for flight delays do not include situations where a known technical issue with the aircraft, insufficient staff or crew, an overbooked flight, strikes by airline staff, or bad weather affecting a previous flight causes your flight to be delayed.

Situations when you would be able to claim flight compensation that are not classed as an extraordinary circumstance include:

• Insufficient airline staff, pilots, cabin crew, check-in staff, or ground staff
• Airline staff sickness, including pilots and cabin crew
• Airline staff strikes
• Known technical issues or defects with the aircraft
• Technical problems with in-person or online check-in, boarding the flight
• Flight overbooking or involuntarily denied passenger boarding
• Expected bad weather
• Lightening strikes
• Bad weather affecting a previous flight causes your flight to be delayed.

Can I Claim Compensation For A Missed Connection If My Flights Are Operated By Different Airlines?

To be eligible to claim compensation, the flight itinerary needs to be booked on one singular booking. The easiest way to check this is to see if your booking reference covers your entire journey or if you have individual booking reference numbers for each flight.

As long as your flights are under a single booking, you are able to claim even if you are flying on multiple airlines.

If I Am Flying On Two Separate Airlines, Which Airline Do I Claim Against?

If you are flying on two different airlines, your claim will be with the airline that caused the delay. In most cases, this will be the first flight you took, or if you have more than two flights, it is usually the flight directly before your missed connection.

Can I Claim Compensation For A Missed Connection If I Have Separate Tickets?

Unfortunately, no. You will not be able to claim as EU Reg261 does not recognise separate tickets as eligible for a claim.

Can I Claim Compensation For A Missed Connection If I Didn’t Pay For The Ticket?

Yes, you may still be able to claim even if you didn’t purchase the ticket. Your rights to claim are based on the inconvenience of your delay, not the value of your ticket. So if someone purchased the ticket for you, you flew on air miles, or you are flying with an infant, your rights remain the same as those who have paid for their ticket.

Can I Claim Compensation If My Connecting Flight’s Destination Is Outside Of The UK or EU?

If your initial flight departed from the UK or the EU, you are eligible to claim under EU 261, even if your connecting flight is destined for a country outside of the UK or EU.

Meet Our Solicitors

Coby Benson

A member of The Law Society and a SRA Registered Solicitor, Coby has been instrumental in establishing flight delay compensation law in the UK, including playing a significant part in the landmark cases of Huzar v Jet2 and Dawson v Thomson at The Supreme Court.

Coby is regularly asked for comment in the national media, regularly featuring in The Daily Telegraph, The Times, The Guardian and The Independent as well as appearing on BBC Television, Sky News, ITV and BBC Radio 4 and Radio Five Live.

More About Coby