Connecting flights between the US and Europe: who pays

Updated 24 October 2026
General information, not legal advice. The outcome depends on the facts of your case.

Most trips between the US and Europe include a connection: Denver to Newark to Frankfurt, or Helsinki to New York to Chicago. When one leg runs late and you miss the next, you may be owed €600 under EU Regulation 261/2004 (EU261), even when a US airline flew the late leg.

The basic rule: one booking, one journey

When all your flights are on one booking, EU261 looks at the whole journey: where you first departed and where you finally arrived. The delay is measured at your final destination, and you are owed compensation when you arrive 3 hours or more late (Air France v Folkerts C-11/11). For a trip between the US and Europe, the amount is €600 per passenger.

An outbound and a return flight are two separate journeys, even on one booking. Each is judged on its own.

Flights bought on separate tickets are separate journeys. If you bought a cheap flight to New York and a separate ticket on to Europe, a missed connection is your own risk. See missed connection.

Flying home from Europe

A journey that starts in the EU is covered on any airline, and it stays covered all the way to your final destination, even past a connection in the US:

• Brussels to Newark to San José, both legs on United, booked through Lufthansa: a delay on the US domestic leg counted, and United had to pay (United Airlines C-561/20).
• Stuttgart to Zurich on SWISS, then Zurich to Philadelphia to Kansas City on American, on one ticket from a travel agency: the delay on the last, purely US leg counted (flightright v American Airlines C-436/21). The airlines did not need any link of their own.
• A connection outside the EU: a journey from the EU via a stop outside the EU is still one journey (Wegener C-537/17). If a non-EU airline delays the second leg, you can claim from the EU airline that flew the first leg (České aerolinie C-502/18).

Flying to Europe from the US

Coming from the US, EU261 only applies if an EU airline operates the flight. With a connection, this is where it gets interesting:

• New York to Amsterdam on a Delta-operated codeshare, then Amsterdam to Hamburg on KLM, booked through KLM: the Delta leg was late, the passenger missed the KLM flight and reached Hamburg more than 3 hours late. The claim lies against KLM, the EU airline that flew the second flight (KLM C-367/20).
• So Chicago to Frankfurt on United, then Frankfurt to Helsinki on Lufthansa, on one booking points to a claim against Lufthansa if the United leg makes you 3 hours or more late in Helsinki. One open point: in the KLM case the ticket was issued by the EU airline. If United issued yours, the claim is arguable but not certain.
• Every leg on a US airline, for example Chicago to Newark to Frankfurt on United: not covered, because no EU airline operates any flight.
• Only the stopover in Europe, for example New York to Frankfurt to Tel Aviv: not covered, even on an EU airline. The journey neither starts nor ends in the EU (Airhelp v Austrian C-451/20).

What to keep

• The booking confirmation showing all legs on one booking number.
• The "operated by" line for each flight.
• Your scheduled and actual arrival time at the final destination (when the doors opened).
• What the airline told you about the reason.

How to claim

Send the claim to the airline that, under the rules above, owes it, in writing. Name every leg, the booking number and the time you finally arrived. If it says another airline is responsible, point to the case that fits your trip. If it refuses, see how to claim EU261 from the US.

Appeal My Flight makes the reply to the airline and the complaint for the right body from standard texts and your answers, for €29 per booking, charged in euros. Tell us every leg in the form. You send it yourself and keep the payout. We cannot promise an outcome.

FAQ

My first flight was a US domestic flight before the long-haul to Europe. Does it count?

Yes, if it is on the same booking and an EU airline operates a later flight. The delay is measured at your final destination in Europe.

The airline says the delay happened in the US, so EU261 does not apply. Is that right?

Not on a journey from the EU: the delay on a later US leg counts (C-561/20, C-436/21). On a journey into the EU, it depends on whether an EU airline flies a later leg (C-367/20).

I booked two separate tickets. Can I still claim?

Only for the leg that was itself delayed or cancelled 3 hours or more, if that flight is covered on its own.

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