If a delayed flight makes you miss your connection, contact the operating airline immediately and ask it to get you to the final destination on your ticket. Tell staff whether both flights are on one reservation, save all disruption records and receipts, and get the airline’s options in writing before paying for a replacement ticket. What the airline must provide depends on your booking, route, the cause of the disruption and the rules that apply.
What to do at the airport right away
- Contact the airline operating your flight. Go to its transfer or customer-service desk, use its app, or call its service line. Give the delayed flight number, missed connection, onward destination and booking reference. If both legs are on one reservation, say so explicitly.
- Ask for a route to your ticketed final destination. Ask whether the airline can rebook you, protect the onward segment, or arrange travel on another carrier. The U.S. Department of Transportation’s Fly Rights guidance notes that airlines are not required to endorse a ticket to another carrier.
- Ask about care while you wait. Depending on the applicable rules and airline policy, meals, refreshments or overnight accommodation may be available. Ask what the airline will provide and how to claim eligible expenses if it does not provide assistance.
- Save evidence as you go. Keep boarding passes, the booking confirmation, delay or cancellation notices, screenshots of app messages, receipts and any written explanation or rebooking offer. Preserve evidence that the flights were sold as one itinerary if they were.
- Get the options in writing before buying another ticket. A self-purchased replacement flight is not automatically reimbursed. Ask the airline to confirm its position and keep receipts if you decide you need to pay for necessary expenses.
If you are traveling on a package holiday, contact the package organiser as well as the airline. UK government guidance says the organiser may need to rearrange or refund package arrangements when disruption materially affects the holiday.
First check whether both flights are on one reservation
One reservation
A connection sold as one reservation gives you a stronger basis to ask the airline to arrange travel to the ticketed final destination. The UK Department for Transport advises passengers who miss a connection because of a preceding delay or cancellation to speak to the airline, which should help arrange an alternative. The precise remedy still depends on the route and applicable law.
Separate bookings
If you bought the flights on separate bookings, the airline may treat the missed onward flight as a separate journey rather than a protected connection. The UK guide warns that airlines may not be able to help in the same way. Contact both carriers promptly, but do not assume the first airline must pay for a new ticket on the second.
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Which rules may apply to your journey?
The place where your flights operate and the circumstances of the missed connection matter. These are broad guides, not a guarantee for every itinerary; confirm the rules for your route with the airline or relevant passenger-rights authority.
| Where the journey is covered | What the cited guidance says | Important limits |
|---|---|---|
| United Kingdom | The Department for Transport says an airline should help arrange an alternative when a passenger misses a connection on one reservation because an earlier flight was delayed or cancelled. | Separate bookings may not receive the same treatment. The guide also advises contacting the airline about delays involving special assistance. |
| European Union | Eligible passengers waiting for rerouting may be entitled to food and refreshments, hotel accommodation when an overnight stay is needed, transport between the airport and hotel, and communications. Necessary, reasonable and appropriate expenses may be claimed if assistance was not offered. | Keep receipts. Care and compensation are distinct rights with separate conditions. |
| United States | Airlines set their own policies for ordinary delay amenities; federal rules generally do not require meals or phone calls. Domestic passengers generally have no legal right to compensation for an ordinary delay or cancellation. | International itineraries may allow a claim for delay-related damages under Article 19 of the Montreal Convention, subject to the treaty and the facts. A refund is a separate issue from compensation or damages. |
When a missed connection may qualify for EU compensation
Under the European Commission’s 2024 interpretive guidelines, an eligible missed connection within EU passenger-rights rules may qualify for compensation if the flights were on one reservation and you arrive at your final destination more than three hours late. The relevant delay is measured at the final destination, not just at the connecting airport. Extraordinary circumstances can defeat a compensation claim.
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The cited guidance does not treat every missed connection as eligible: a connection missed because of a security delay or because you did not reach the gate by the boarding deadline does not create this compensation right. Eligibility also depends on the regulation’s scope and the facts of the journey.
In the United States, distinguish a refund from other claims
U.S. Department of Transportation refund guidance says that after a cancellation or significant delay or change, you may be entitled to a refund if you choose not to travel and decline credits or alternatives. Its listed significant-delay thresholds are arrival at least three hours later for domestic itineraries or six hours later for international itineraries. If you accept an offered alternative and travel, you generally are not entitled to a refund under those refund rules. These thresholds concern refunds; they do not establish a right to delay compensation or determine whether a separate damages claim is available.
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Before accepting or paying for an alternative
- Ask what rerouting the airline can provide and whether it covers the full journey to your ticketed final destination.
- Ask whether meals, accommodation or other care are available under the applicable rules or the carrier’s policy.
- Request the reason for the disruption and the available options in writing.
- Keep receipts for expenses you may claim; reimbursement, where available, is limited to expenses that meet the applicable requirements.
- Before choosing a refund instead of travel, check what that choice means for your onward plans. Under U.S. DOT refund guidance, taking an alternative generally means you are not entitled to a refund under those rules.
Passenger-rights rules can change. On 15 June 2026, the Council of the EU announced a political agreement with Parliament on stronger passenger rights, including a proposed rerouting offer within three hours in certain cases. That announcement alone does not establish that the changes are in force; check for formal adoption and commencement before relying on them.
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