Missed connection guide

Missed your connection? Check whether the flights were one journey.

A protected through-booking and a self-transfer can look identical at the airport but produce very different rights. Confirm the ticket structure before calculating anything.

Reviewed 1 September 2026

01

One reservation can protect the whole journey

For connecting flights on one protected booking, care and possible compensation can be assessed to the final destination. Arrival more than three hours late may qualify where the route is covered and extraordinary circumstances do not excuse fixed compensation.

The airline should re-route a protected journey. Save any replacement boarding passes and the time you finally reached the last airport on the booking.

02

Separate tickets are a self-transfer

When flights are separate bookings, UK261 and EU261 normally assess each flight independently. The first airline does not generally have a statutory duty to carry you on a separately purchased onward flight, even when its delay caused the miss.

Travel insurance or a specialist self-transfer guarantee may help, but those are contractual products rather than automatic UK261 or EU261 rights.

03

The operating carrier still matters

Coverage depends on where the protected journey began or ended and which airline operated the relevant service. Marketing airline, booking agent and operating airline can be different. Direct the claim to the operating carrier first.

04

Check the bag's destination separately

A bag may be re-routed automatically, held at the connection point or sent to the original destination. Ask the airline to confirm the bag-tag route. If it does not arrive, make a PIR and preserve the bag tag.

BagBack cannot access a live baggage or rebooking record.

Common questions

What passengers ask next.

Can I claim for a missed connection?

Potentially, when the flights were part of one covered booking and you reached the final destination more than three hours late, subject to the cause and other conditions.

What if I booked the flights separately?

Each flight is usually assessed separately. There is normally no statutory right to onward transport for a separately booked connection missed because of the first flight.

Will my checked bag follow the new flight?

It may, but do not assume it. Ask the airline or handler to confirm the tag route and create a PIR if the bag does not arrive.