Missed connection compensation: claiming when a delay makes you miss your next flight
Last reviewed: November 2026
In a nutshell
If you missed a connecting flight because your first flight was delayed, and both flights were on the same booking, compensation is based on how late you reached your FINAL destination, and on the distance from your first departure airport to that destination.
Check your flight free in 60 seconds
See if you're likely owed compensation, how much, and the time limit. If you are, get a ready-to-send claim letter for £9.99 / €11.99 / $14.99 per booking. You keep 100%.
Check my flight free →The key conditions
- All flights on one booking (one booking reference). Separately booked flights don't count for the missed flight.
- You reached your final destination 3 hours or more late.
- The journey is covered: it started in the UK or EU, or the delayed flight was operated by a UK or EU airline into the UK or EU.
- The delay wasn't caused by extraordinary circumstances.
Journeys leaving Europe
If your journey began in the EU, the whole journey on one booking is covered, even if a later flight outside the EU was operated by a non-EU airline (EU Court of Justice: Wegener, C-537/17; České aerolinie, C-502/18).
How much?
It's the usual distance bands (€250–€600 or £220–£520 per passenger), measured in a straight line from your first departure airport to your final destination, not the sum of the flights.
Find out if you're owed compensation
See if you're likely owed compensation, how much, and the time limit. If you are, get a ready-to-send claim letter for £9.99 / €11.99 / $14.99 per booking. You keep 100%.
Check my flight free →Share this guide
Know someone whose flight was delayed or cancelled? Send them this free guide.
General information about UK and EU air passenger rights, not legal advice. Rules can change; check the details of your own flight.