Missed your connecting flight? What to do in the first minutes

Single ticket: the airline must reroute you

When the missed connection is part of the same booking, EC Regulation 261/2004 requires the airline to reroute the passenger on the first available flight to final destination, or offer an alternative flight on a later date or reimbursement of the unflown segment. If accumulated delays result in arriving more than three hours later than the scheduled time, compensation becomes due, calculated on final arrival and not on the duration of the first flight delay. It is still worth presenting yourself at the airline counter or transit desk: often rerouting has already been processed automatically in the system before you even reach the counter.

Separate tickets: no obligation, but worth asking

If the two flights are purchased with separate bookings — even with the same airline — the rerouting obligation does not apply: in the airline's eyes they are two independent transport contracts. Some airlines offer a courtesy flight change at a reduced or no fee, especially if the delay of the first flight is their fault; others do not. Before buying a new ticket at full price, it is worth asking the counter explicitly whether this option exists.

What to keep and who to notify

The boarding pass from the missed flight, any written communications about the delay, and your new boarding pass should be kept: they are the documents required for a reimbursement or compensation claim once the emergency is resolved. In the meantime, a message to whoever is waiting at destination prevents the wait from becoming an alarm, and remaining reachable by phone allows staff to contact you directly if a seat opens on an earlier flight than the one assigned to you.

The fastest way to avoid wasting time is to bypass the generic ticket counter and head straight to the dedicated airline counter near transit areas, where the matter is resolved much faster than at a common counter.