Missed your connection? The delay that counts might not be the one you think.

A first flight that lands just an hour late doesn't sound like much, until it costs you the connection and you land at your real destination five hours behind schedule. Under UK261 and EU261, that five-hour delay is what counts, not the one-hour delay that caused it, provided the whole journey was booked as one. Check your flight in 60 seconds to see where you stand.

One booking, or separate tickets: the detail that decides everything

If both flights are on a single booking, one reference number covering the whole journey, the airline (or airlines, if it's a codeshare or interline itinerary) is responsible for getting you to your final destination, not just the next airport. Miss the connection because the first leg ran late, and you're rebooked onto the next available flight as part of the same journey.

Buy the two flights separately, as two unconnected tickets, and that protection disappears. Each ticket stands alone: the first only pays compensation if it itself arrived 3+ hours late, and missing a connection you booked yourself is your own risk, not the second airline's problem. If you're booking a tight connection, book it as one itinerary through a single airline or agent whenever you can.

What counts is your final destination

On a single booking, compensation is worked out from when you actually arrive at your final destination, not from the delay on the leg that caused the problem. A 1-hour delay into Amsterdam that made you miss the onward leg and arrive 5 hours late in Singapore is a 5-hour delay for compensation purposes, even though no single flight on the itinerary was itself 5 hours late. The amount owed is based on the distance of the whole journey, start to finish, not just the delayed leg.

The cause still has to be within the airline's control

Missing a connection doesn't change the underlying rule: compensation is only due when the original delay was the airline's fault. If your first flight was an hour late because of a technical fault or crew shortage, and that hour cost you the connection, the whole 5-hour knock-on is payable. If the first flight was delayed by genuinely severe weather or an air traffic control restriction, the airline can still refuse, the same as it could for a straightforward delay. Worth checking either way, since airlines lean on "weather" more often than the facts support.

Connections outside the UK and EU

Coverage follows the booking's starting point, not each individual leg. Fly London to Nairobi via Amsterdam on a single KLM booking, and the whole journey is protected under EU261 because it departed the EU, even though the second leg, Amsterdam to Nairobi, is entirely outside UK/EU airspace. The same applies to a UK departure connecting onward anywhere in the world on one ticket. What breaks coverage is a non-UK/EU departure connecting through the UK/EU on a non-UK/EU carrier, not the destination.

What you're owed

The same fixed amounts as any other delay, based on the total distance of the booking from first departure to final arrival.

Per passenger, children included. A family of four rerouted 5+ hours late on a long-haul booking can be owed well over £2,000 between them.

What to do if you miss a connection

• • Keep the boarding pass for the flight you missed, not just the replacement, it's proof of the original delay that caused the disruption.
• • Ask the transfer desk or gate staff why the first flight was late, and note exactly what they say.
• • Note your actual arrival time at your final destination, not the connecting airport.
• • Claim against the airline that operated the delayed leg, or the airline you booked with if it was a codeshare, using your final arrival time as the delay.

Old missed connections still pay

Same time limits as any other claim: up to 6 years back in England and Wales, 5 in Scotland. A missed connection from a few summers ago is still worth checking, especially since most passengers never realise the total journey delay is what counted, not the short first-leg delay they remember.

Denied boarding for a different reason, like overbooking rather than a missed connection? See denied boarding compensation instead.