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Missed flight — what are your passenger rights?
In order to get flight compensation or a refund for your missed connection flight, both of your flights must be under the same booking. In this case, both flights are considered as one and the airline is responsible for the complete trip delays or cancellations.
If you were not at fault for missing your flight and you checked in on time, missed flights are most of the time caused by the delay or cancellation of the first flight. Therefore, according to the British and EU regulations, if the airline is the party at fault for this delay or cancellation, they owe passengers flight compensation up to £520 and/or a refund.
When can you claim flight compensation for your missed flight?
In order to be eligible for missed flight compensation, your situation needs to meet the following criteria:
You missed your connecting flight due to a delayed flight, cancelled flight or denied boarding due to an overbooked flight
In the event of a flight delay: your missed flight caused you to be more than 3 hours late at your final destination
Your connecting flights are part of the same booking
The airline was the party at fault for the disruption that caused your missed flight
You missed your flight due to a circumstance beyond your control. For example, if you have missed your flight because you checked-in late or were denied boarding because of a missing ID/passport, you likely will not be able to claim compensation.
Claim compensation for your missed flight!
Missed flight due to a flight delay — Claim compensation!
Did missing your connecting flight make you arrive more than 3 hours later at the final destination? According to the British and EU regulations, you may be entitled to flight compensation up to £520.
Two things must be considered:
- Your connecting flights must be under the same booking — the airline must be responsible for your all trip.
- The airline must be the party at fault for the delay.
In the event of a missed flight due to a cancellation, you have several options:
If the airline did not provide you with an alternative flight, you can ask for a full refund of both of your connecting flights.
If the airline did provide you with an alternative flight but you declined their offer, you can ask for a full refund of your connecting flights.
If the alternative flight offered by the airline makes you arrive more than 3 hours later at the final destination, you can claim flight compensation!
If your initial flight was cancelled fewer than 14 days prior to departure, you can claim flight compensation AND a ticket refund (ticket refund is applicable only when you do not fly with the airline in the end).
Did you miss your connecting flight?
Claim flight compensation, the refund of your entire trip or both!
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I was flying to a non-European country, can I still get flight compensation/refund for my missed flight?
If your initial flight departed from the UK or the EU your rights are covered by British and European regulations.
Connecting flights, as long as they are booked under the same reservation, count as one trip. Therefore, if you were flying from London to Los Angeles and you missed your connecting flight in New York because of a delay or cancellation of your first flight, you can be eligible for flight compensation and a refund under the British and European regulations.
How much flight compensation can I get for my missed flight?
It will depend on the distance of your whole trip. When taking connecting flights, you are probably travelling further away — meaning, that your case will likely fall in the last category from the list below. Check out the amount of compensation you can get per distance according to the UK261/EU261!
- For flights shorter than 1,500 km, the compensation is £220.
- For flights between 1,500 and 3,500 km, the compensation is £350.
- For flights of over 1,500 kilometres within the EU, the compensation is also £350.
- For flights of over 3,500 kilometres outside of the EU, the compensation is £520 —but if your flight was delayed by fewer than 4 hours, the total amount might be reduced by 50%.
Can the airline deny my missed flight compensation/refund claim?
The airline must be the party at fault for the delay or the cancellation that caused you to miss your connecting flights. If a third party and or a force majeure has caused the initial delay or cancellation, we talk about extraordinary circumstances.
Here are a few examples of situations where you might not be eligible for flight compensation:
Bad weather conditions, such as thick fog, heavy rain, or thunderstorms.
A strike, most often specifically within the aviation industry (for example, a strike of air traffic control workers at a specific airport).
However, a strike of the airline's crew is not considered an extraordinary circumstance!
Political circumstances, such as a terrorist attack or general security risk due to political unrest.
Natural disasters, including volcanic eruptions and hurricanes.
A collision between the aircraft and birds or other foreign objects.
An ill or unruly passenger.
Flight delays caused by the airport staff, such as extraordinarily long queues to security checks.
How long can I claim flight compensation or refund for my missed flight?
In the UK, you can claim for up to 6 years after your missed flight. However, this time limit changes according to:
The country of the departure
The country of the destination
The country where the airline is based
For example, if you are flying with Air France from London to New York, you will be able to choose between the legislations in France (5 years) and the UK (6 years) to exercise your rights according to the British and EU regulations.
How long will it take to receive my flight compensation/flight refund?
Passengers who use Flight Delayed UK to claim flight compensation or a refund typically receive their money within a few weeks or months.
However, if the airline is unresponsive and/or the claim must be filed in court, the wait time could be extended by several months or even years.
No matter how long the claim takes, our team will keep you informed of any significant developments in your case and will be available to answer any concerns you may have.
How to claim flight compensation/refund?
If you are eligible for flight compensation/flight refund, you can choose to let our team of experts handle your claim. It will only take a few minutes to upload all required documents on our platform. Our legal experts will take it from there, assessing your claim, preparing legal papers, contacting the airline's decision-makers, and, if necessary, taking your claim to court.
Why claim with Flight-Delayed
1m passengers helped
9 legal teams in 9 countries
98% of court cases won
If you wish to learn more about our fees, please visit our Price List page.
Otherwise, if you are ready to claim, start the process right away — you can do it straight from your phone or your computer!
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