Missed Connecting Flights
and Compensation Eligibility
Connecting flights add convenience to our journey. A connecting flight involves a journey with multiple flight segments or legs, where passengers transfer between two or more flights to reach their final destination. If you miss a connecting flight due to delay, cancellation or overbooking, you might be eligible for compensation up to 600 €.
Your Rights Under EC 261
The EC 261 Regulation establishes the rights of passengers when faced with flight disruptions. If your flight issue falls under the regulation, you may be entitled to compensation of up to 600 €.
Eligibility for Compensation
You might be eligible for compensation for a missed connecting flight if:
You missed your connecting flight due to a flight delay, cancellation or overbooked flight.
Your flights were part of the same booking, not purchased separately.
Flight is departing from an EU airport or arriving at an EU airport on an EU-based airline.
If you arrive more than 3 hours late at your final destination and the airline was not responsible for the delay.
Issue is not caused by extraordinary circumstances, such as severe weather, political instability, or security risks.
Flight issue happened not more than 3 years ago (in some cases, the eligibility period may differ).
Distance and Time matters
If flights were purchased as one booking, they are considered part of the same journey. In this case, no matter where disruption occurs or where you miss your connection, you might be eligible for compensation for the entire distance of the journey.
Up to 1 500 km
More than 3 hours
250 € *
1 500 km - 3 500 km
More than 3 hours
400 € *
More than 3 500 km
More than 3 hours
300 € *
More than 4 hours
600 € *
* The amount of compensation estimated to be paid by the airline as stated in EC 261, before deducting our Service Fee
While your ticket might have been cheap, the price does not affect the amount of compensation you might be entitled to. Even if your ticket cost only 20 €, you might still get up to 600 € for your flight issue, on average up to 3 years back.
Right to reimbursement or rebooking
Regardless of the distance of the flight, passengers are entitled to:
Flight reimbursement
In case your flight is delayed more than 5 hours, you may choose not to continue the journey. In addition to compensation, the airline must provide you with an alternative route and refund all your flights you decided not to take that were part of the journey.
Flight rebooking
A replacement flight to your destination on the earliest possible date and time free of charge.
Right to Care and Assistance
Regardless of the distance of the flight, passengers are entitled to:
Meals and refreshments
Food or drink (or a voucher) after 2 hours.
Accommodation
Transport to and from the airport or hotel.
Access to communication
Phone call or an email provided by the airline.
Transportation
Transport to and from the airport or hotel.
Even if the issue was caused by extraordinary circumstances, you are still entitled to care and assistance as mentioned above or a refund of such expenses in case you had to pay for them yourself. Use Flywize online form to submit your Expenses Refund claim.
Claim up to 600 € for missed connection now.
Missed Connection caused by Extraordinary Circumstances
Flight issues and their cause
Flight issues can be attributed to a variety of factors, some of which are beyond the control of airlines. These unforeseen events are termed "extraordinary circumstances" under the EC 261 regulation.
Your rights
Airlines are not obligated to compensate passengers if the flight issue is caused by extraordinary circumstances beyond their control. However, you still have certain rights.
What are Extraordinary Circumstances
Unpredictable and severe weather events, like hurricanes or volcanic ash clouds, can disrupt air travel. Airlines are not held responsible for issues caused by these uncontrollable weather conditions.
How to Claim Missed Connection Under EC 261
If you've missed your connecting flight and your flight falls within the criteria outlined by EC 261, you can claim compensation by following these steps:
Gather flight information
Collect details about your flight, including the flight number, date and your reservation booking number.
Keep all your documentation
Have your boarding passes, receipts for expenses and any communication with the airline.
Submit a claim with Flywize
Use our quick and easy online form to check your eligibility for free and submit your claim for compensation.
Let us handle it
Our team of experts will take care of the communication with the airline and handle the entire process.
Takes less than 5 minutes
Business Travel and Compensation
If you travelled for a business trip paid by your employer, it is still you who is eligible for compensation up to 600 € in case of a flight delay, cancellation, missed connection or overbooking.
Your employer purchased the ticket for your business trip.
Your flight was delayed or cancelled.
You as the passenger have the right to compensation.
Under EC 261, it is stated that it is the passenger who is entitled for compensation, not the person or company who paid for the ticket.
Questions about Missed Connecting Flight?
Check our our FAQs
If your flights are part of the same booking, the airline is obliged to provide you with an alternative flight to your final destination at the earliest possible date and time. They are also required to provide you with a refreshment or a food voucher for the delay after 2 hours. In case you have to wait overnight, they need to provide you hotel or accommodation and transport to and from the airport. If you are paying for anything by yourself, keep your receipts to request expenses refund. If the airline is at fault for the delay, you may be eligible for compensation up to 600 €.
If your flight is delayed and your flights were booked separately, you might still be eligible for compensation for your flight as a single flight if the delay was more than 3 hours after arrival and falls under criteria of EC 261. Remember though, since your flights were booked separately, the airline is not responsible for rebooking you on an alternative flight or refunding you the cost of your new flight to your final destination.
Immediately contact the airline and request a new flight to your final destination. The airline is responsible for rebooking you to an earliest possible flight for free. In case you need to wait, the airline is required to provide you with a refreshment or a food voucher for the delay after 2 hours and a hotel in case of having to wait for your new flight overnight. Keep any receipts if you paid for food, hotel or taxi yourself and request a Refund of Expenses. If your flights are part of single booking, you might be eligible for compensation for the entire journey.
If your flights are separate bookings, you need to contact the airline operating the flight that was cancelled. They are required to rebook you on the earliest possible flight for free. You might still be eligible for compensation if your flight falls under criteria of Cancellation under EC 261 and wasn’t caused by Extraordinary circumstances.
If your flights were part of a single booking, it is the whole journey that is taken into account for your flight compensation claim, rather than just one flight which was disrupted. If your whole journey consisted of multiple flights, the amount of compensation is calculated based on the sum of distance of all flights.
If the airline is responsible for you missing your connection, they are obliged to rebook you to an earliest possible flight for free. In some rare cases when the airline is not able to do so, you may book your own new flight and keep your receipt to request the airline for a refund. It is best to consult the airline and see what options they provide for your specific situation. If you missed your flight due to your own fault or your flight was a separate booking, the airline is not responsible for rebooking you on a new flight or refunding your new ticket.
Yes, you may be eligible for compensation if you miss a connecting flight due to a delay on the first flight that was shorter than 3 hours, provided your flights were part of a single booking. In this case, you may be eligible for compensation for the entire distance of your journey.
Compensation eligibility for separate bookings depends on the circumstances of each flight separately. You might still be eligible for compensation for flight disruption for each individual flight, if it meets the criteria for Delay, Cancellation or Overbooking under EC 261.
In case your flight is delayed more than 5 hours, due to disruptions to your plans, you may choose not to continue the journey. In these cases, the airline must provide you with a return flight home, and also refund all your flights you decided not to take that were part of the journey. In this case, you are not eligible for compensation for the delay as you voluntarily decided not to continue the journey, therefore you will not be eligible to be compensated for the delayed flight.
The time limit to claim compensation for missed connecting flights is 3 years on average. In some cases, this time limit might be longer. We advise to consult with Flywize by filling in our free online Eligibility Check form.