Missed connection compensation: are you entitled?
Quite possibly. If a delay on your first flight made you miss your connection, and you reached your final destination hours late, EU261 may entitle you to compensation. A lot turns on whether the whole journey was on a single booking.
The whole journey counts, not each flight on its own
When you book a journey with a connection under a single booking, it is treated as one continuous journey to your final destination. If a delay on the first leg makes you miss the connection, it is the delay at your final destination that decides, not how late you reached the layover airport.
That is why you may be entitled to compensation even when no individual flight was seriously delayed on its own: it was the missed connection, and the long wait for the next departure, that got you there hours late. The delay itself is then assessed in the same way as for a delayed flight, and the compensation amounts follow the same fixed levels.
Three hours at your final destination is the threshold
Normally no cash compensation, but you may still be entitled to assistance (meals, refreshments, a hotel if needed) while you wait for the next departure.
Compensation may apply, unless the cause was an extraordinary circumstance. It is the arrival at your final destination that counts, not the layover.
One booking or separate tickets
One booking
The whole journey under a single booking reference. If a delay makes you miss your connection, it is assessed as one continuous journey, the strongest starting position.
Separate tickets
If you bought the flights separately, each one is normally treated as its own journey, so a missed connection between them does not usually qualify on its own. It does not always rule out a claim, but the assessment depends far more on the circumstances.
What strengthens your claim
- The whole journey was made under a single booking.
- You reached your final destination significantly late.
- The delay on the first leg was down to the airline.
Keep your booking confirmation
Frequently asked questions
It matters a great deal. If the whole journey was made under a single booking, it is assessed as one continuous journey, and a delay on the first leg that makes you miss your connection can entitle you to compensation based on the delay at your final destination. If you bought separate tickets, the position is more complicated, though not always hopeless.
What matters is how late you reached your final destination, not the layover. If you miss your connection and arrive several hours late, you may be entitled to compensation even if each individual flight ran roughly to schedule.
Yes. If the delay was down to something within the airline's control (a technical fault or staff shortages, for example) that strengthens your claim. If it was caused by an extraordinary circumstance, the right to compensation may fall away. We look at the cause as part of the assessment.
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- See your assessment before you submit
- No win, no fee: you only pay if compensation is recovered
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Missed a connection on your journey?
Tell us how the journey was booked and what happened, and we will give you a preliminary assessment under the applicable rules.