Missed your connection: what the airline owes you
If both legs were on one booking, the delay counts from when you finally reached your destination, so three hours late at the end can be worth £220 to £520 even if the first flight was only an hour down.
One booking, or two
This is the question everything turns on. If both legs were sold to you as a single booking, with one reference, the airline is responsible for getting you to the final destination and the delay is measured there.
If you booked the two flights separately, they are two contracts. The first airline owes you for its own delay and nothing for the connection you missed, even if the two were an hour apart at the same airport.
Booking separately to save money is what makes a missed connection expensive. The saving is real, and so is the risk.
How the delay is measured
On a single booking the clock runs to your arrival at the final destination, not to the end of the leg that went wrong.
So a first flight 90 minutes late, which is not claimable on its own, becomes a claim worth up to £520 if it costs you a connection and you arrive five hours behind schedule.
The distance band is measured across the whole journey too, not the leg that was delayed.
What the airline must do in the meantime
Rebook you onto the next available flight to your destination at no extra cost. If its own next flight is tomorrow and a competitor flies this evening, the earliest opportunity is the competitor.
Feed you while you wait, and put you in a hotel if the wait runs overnight.
A connection missed because you were late to the gate is your own, and none of this applies.
Common questions
My first flight was only an hour late but I missed my connection. Can I claim?
Yes, if both legs were on one booking. The delay is measured at your final destination, so arriving three or more hours late qualifies regardless of how small the original delay was.
I booked the two flights separately. What can I claim?
Only for the delay to the first flight itself, judged on its own. The second airline owes you nothing for a flight you did not board, and the first owes nothing for a connection it never agreed to protect.
Does the airline have to put me on another airline?
It must rebook you at the earliest opportunity, which can mean a competitor flight. Ask, and keep any refusal in writing.
Check your own flight
AirHelp will tell you whether a specific flight qualifies and handle the claim with the airline. TravelTrauma earns a commission if a claim succeeds, at no cost to you.
Check your claimMore guides
- Flight delay compensation: what you can claim in the UK and EU
- Your flight was cancelled: refund, rebooking and compensation
- Lost or delayed baggage: what you can claim
- Denied boarding and overbooked flights: what you are owed
- The airline said no: how to challenge a refused claim
- Package holidays: what you are covered for when it goes wrong
- Downgraded to a lower cabin: what you get back
Last reviewed 2026-10-08. This explains the rules and is not legal advice; the circumstances of your flight may change what applies.