You missed your connection. Who pays?

Updated 13 October 2026

Your first flight was late, you missed your connection and you arrived hours behind schedule. Now the airline says the first flight was only 40 minutes late, or that the delay happened on another airline's flight. If everything was on one booking, neither answer holds. What counts is your arrival at the final destination.

What the refusal usually means

Airlines usually rely on one of three arguments:

• "The delay was under three hours." The airline counts only the first leg.
• "Not our flight." A partner or another airline operated the delayed leg.
• "Separate bookings." You bought through an agent, and the airline says the legs are not connected.

What the EU Court says

The delay counts at the final destination. For connecting flights on one booking, what matters is how late you arrive at your final destination (Air France v Folkerts C-11/11). The threshold is three hours, and arrival is when at least one door opens (Germanwings C-452/13).

The distance is the whole journey. The amount depends on the great-circle distance from the first departure to the final destination, not the sum of the legs and not just the delayed leg (Bossen C-559/16). Under Article 7 of Regulation 261/2004 that is €250 up to 1,500 km, €400 for intra-EU flights over 1,500 km and other flights of 1,500 to 3,500 km, and €600 over 3,500 km.

One booking from the EU covers the whole journey. A journey on one booking that starts in the EU is covered as a whole, even with a stopover outside the EU (Wegener C-537/17). The airline that flew the first leg can be held liable even when the delay happened on a later leg flown by a partner (České aerolinie C-502/18).

Agent bookings. A booking through an agent counts as one booking only if the journey was sold as one unit, for example on one ticket or for one price (C-436/21).

What the Nordic boards have said

• Sweden, ARN 2023-04093: Arlanda–Miami–Pensacola on one booking. The Arlanda–Miami leg, operated by a partner, was cancelled. The airline that sold the trip, and flew one of the legs, said "not our flight". ARN awarded the passenger €600.
• Finland, KRIL D/1009/35/2023: Helsinki–Bangkok–Phuket. The partner's connecting flight was cancelled. The airline that flew the first leg was liable for the whole journey. The passengers got €600 each and compensation for lost hotel and train tickets.
• Sweden, ARN 2023-00384: London–Poznań–Stockholm, booked through an agent with two different airlines. The agent's booking number did not show that it was one booking, so only the first leg counted, and it was 2 hours 11 minutes late. No fixed compensation.

When the rule does not help

• Separate tickets. If you bought two tickets yourself, each flight is its own case. Only the delay on the first flight counts.
• Return with a non-EU airline. A return flight from outside the EU on a non-EU airline is not covered, even if the outbound was on the same booking (Emirates C-173/07).
• A documented extraordinary circumstance on the first leg, such as an air traffic control strike, can still excuse the airline. See extraordinary circumstances.

What evidence to keep

• the booking confirmation showing all legs under one booking reference
• a ticket or receipt with one price for the whole journey, especially for agent bookings
• boarding passes for every leg
• your actual arrival time at the final destination

Step by step

1. Claim in writing from the airline that operated the delayed or cancelled leg. Say that the delay counts at the final destination (C-11/11) and attach the booking.
2. Wait for the answer. Typical waiting periods before you can escalate: about 4 weeks in Sweden and Norway, 6 weeks in Denmark.
3. Go to the board for the country where the disruption happened. Finland: KRIL, after KKV or ECC Finland; EU261 cases can be filed in English. Sweden: ARN, 150 kr. Denmark: Trafikstyrelsen with MitID. Norway: Transportklagenemnda via www.reiselivsforum.no, Norwegian or English. See the Nordic complaint boards.

When it is worth it, and when it is not

Worth it when everything was on one booking and you arrived three hours or more late at the final destination, even if the first leg was only slightly late.

Weak when you booked the legs separately, or an agent sold them without showing that they were one booking.

If the airline gave away your seat on the connection before you arrived, that can be denied boarding. See denied boarding. Flying via Frankfurt or Munich? See Lufthansa rejected your claim.

Appeal My Flight writes the claim or appeal to the right airline and the board complaint for €29 per booking. You send it yourself and keep the payout. We cannot promise an outcome.

FAQ

My first flight was only 30 minutes late. Can I still claim?

Yes, if everything was on one booking and you arrived at the final destination three hours or more late.

Do I get compensation for both flights?

No. One journey gives one compensation, based on the distance of the whole journey.

Can I also claim meals and a hotel while I waited?

Yes. The airline must provide meals, and a hotel if you had to stay overnight. Proven costs come on top of the fixed compensation.

Got the airline's reply? Paste it into the rejection checker and see what EU court rulings say about their excuse.