Art 3; Folkerts C-11/11
You missed a connecting flight
This is the claim most people wrongly assume they've lost. What matters is the delay at your final destination, not which individual flight was late.
Checked against its sources
The short answer
On a single booking, if a delay on the first leg made you arrive 3+ hours late overall, you can claim — even if the connecting flight itself ran on time.
The one thing to know: One booking is the key condition. If both flights were on the same reservation, the arrival delay at the end of the journey is what counts.
How it actually works
- One booking, one journey
- Where both legs are on a single reservation, compensation turns on the arrival delay at the final destination, whatever the departure delay was (Folkerts, C-11/11, 2013). A 40-minute delay on the first leg that makes you miss the connection and land four hours late is a claim, unless the airline proves extraordinary circumstances.
- Separate bookings
- If you booked the two flights separately, you generally cannot combine them — the missed connection is treated as your risk, not the airline's. This is the single biggest reason to book connections on one ticket. A travel agent's single ticket combining two airlines does count as one booking (flightright, C-436/21, 2022).
- The amount
- Set by the great-circle distance from your first departure airport to your final destination, not by the leg that was delayed and not by the sum of the legs.
Doing it yourself costs nothing and keeps the full amount.
How much
Per passenger, measured from first departure to final destination Art 7(1), 7(4). UK261 treats a multi-leg flight booked as a single unit as one flight departing from the first leg's airport UK261 Art 3(1A).
| Distance, first airport to last | EU261 | UK261 |
|---|---|---|
| Up to 1,500 km | €250 | £220 |
| 1,500–3,500 km | €400 | £350 |
| Over 3,500 km within the EU | €400 | £520 (UK261 has no intra-EU band) |
| Over 3,500 km, arriving 4 h or more late | €600 | £520 |
| Over 3,500 km, arriving 3–4 h late | €300 (halved, Art 7(2)) | £260 |
When you are owed, and when you are not
You are owed
- Single booking, three hours or more late at the final destination, timed from when a door opened (Folkerts; Germanwings, C-452/13).
- The journey started in the EU, even if you changed planes outside it on a non-EU airline (Wegener, C-537/17, 2018). You can claim from the EU airline that flew the first leg even if the delay arose on the second (České aerolinie, C-502/18, 2019).
- The journey flew into the EU on an EU airline Art 3(1)(b). UK261: started in the UK on any airline, or flew into the UK on a UK or EU airline.
- You were refused boarding on the connection because the airline wrongly assumed you would miss it after its own delay. That is denied boarding (Rodríguez Cachafeiro, C-321/11).
You are not
- The flights were on separate bookings.
- The journey started outside the EU on a non-EU airline, for example Bangkok–Doha–Frankfurt with a Gulf carrier. EU261 does not reach it.
- It started and ended outside the EU and only the change was inside, even on an EU airline (Commission Interpretative Guidelines 2024).
- You missed the connection through security queues or by not reaching the gate in time at the transfer airport (same Guidelines), or the airline proves extraordinary circumstances on the first leg.
Owed whatever caused it
On a single booking the airline must still get you to your final destination. When a delay or cancellation strands you, you are owed the Article 8 choice — re-routing at the earliest opportunity, re-routing later, or a refund — and Article 9 care while you wait: meals and refreshments, two calls or emails, and a hotel if it runs overnight. Care is owed even when the cause is extraordinary (McDonagh, C-12/11, 2013). Everything owed regardless of cause →
Stranded overnight
No hotel from the airline?
Book a reasonable room near the airport yourself and keep the receipt, then claim the cost back from the airline. You recover what was necessary, appropriate and reasonable: a mid-range hotel, not a suite (McDonagh, C-12/11).
- London Heathrow
- Paris CDG
- Frankfurt
- Amsterdam Schiphol
- Madrid Barajas
- Barcelona El Prat
- Munich
- Rome Fiumicino
- Dublin
Hotels nearest each airport, on Agoda. These are affiliate links: we may earn a commission, at no extra cost to you. Disclosure.
A worked example
Two passengers fly Lisbon–Frankfurt–Chicago O'Hare on one booking with an EU airline. A technical fault delays the first leg by 50 minutes, they miss the connection, and the rebooked flight opens its doors in Chicago 5 h 10 min after the original scheduled arrival.
- Distance: Lisbon to Chicago direct, 6,436 km great circle (not 1,874 km + 6,971 km for the legs). Over 3,500 km, not intra-EU: the €600 band.
- More than four hours late, so no halving: 2 × €600 = €1,200.
- Had the rebooked flight arrived 3 h 30 min late: 2 × €300 = €600. The 50-minute departure delay is irrelevant either way.
What changes on 23 October 2027
Regulation (EU) 2026/2202 gives missed connections their own article for the first time, but it applies only from 23 October 2027. Until then the case law above decides claims. UK261 is not affected.
- Codified
- New Article 6b covers a missed connection on a journey under a single air transport contract. Compensation is due from the airline that operated the disrupted flight if you reach your final destination more than three hours late (new Art 6b(3)).
- How the delay is counted
- Against the arrival time at your final destination shown on your ticket before the missed connection (new Art 6b(3)), with arrival measured at on-block time (new Art 2(x)).
- Who looks after you
- The operator of the flight that made you miss the connection must re-route you and provide care (new Art 6b(1)). If it cannot re-route you within five hours of the missed flight's departure time, it must also offer a refund (new Art 6b(2)).
- Defence
- The airline escapes only by proving extraordinary circumstances, a direct causal link, and that it took all reasonable measures (new Art 6c(2)).
What to do now
- Photograph the evidence — the booking showing both flights on one reservation, the departure board, the app before it updates, and the arrival time at your final destination when the door opens. The full checklist →
- Write to the airline, quoting the article and the flight. Use the template →
- Give them 28 days, then escalate free to the national enforcement body. In the UK the next step is an ADR scheme, or the CAA if the airline has none, once eight weeks have passed.
- Check your time limit — it varies by country: six years in England, one year in Poland and Belgium, and unsettled in Italy. See yours →
Questions
You missed a connecting flight: am I owed compensation?
On a single booking, if a delay on the first leg made you arrive 3+ hours late overall, you can claim — even if the connecting flight itself ran on time.
My flights were on separate bookings. Can I claim?
Not for the missed connection: each booking is judged on its own, so the second airline owes you nothing for the flight you missed. You can still claim from the first airline if that flight alone reached its destination three hours or more late.
My connection was outside the EU, on a non-EU airline. Am I covered?
Yes, if the journey started in the EU on a single booking. The whole journey is covered (Wegener, C-537/17), and you can claim from the EU airline that flew the first leg even if the delay arose on the second (České aerolinie, C-502/18).
How is the distance worked out?
In a straight line, by the great-circle method, from your first departure airport to your final destination. It is not the sum of the legs.
A travel agent put two airlines on one ticket. Is that a single booking?
Yes. Flights combined by a travel agency for an overall price on a single ticket are a connecting flight, even if the airlines have no agreement with each other (flightright, C-436/21).
How do I claim it?
Write to the airline first, quoting the article and flight, and allow 28 days. It is free and you keep the whole amount. Escalate to the national enforcement body if refused.