Guide · updated 12 November 2026

Missed your connection because of a delay: when you are owed compensation

If a delay made you miss your next flight and both are on one booking, what counts is how late you reached your final destination. Three hours or more means compensation.

One booking is the key

In Folkerts (C-11/11) the EU Court of Justice ruled that for connecting flights on one booking, the delay at the final destination counts. It doesn’t matter that the first flight was only an hour late; if you ended up three or more hours late, you’re owed compensation.

The amount depends on the distance between the first departure and the final destination, not on the individual flights.

Separate tickets

If you bought the flights separately, each counts on its own. A missed second flight usually doesn’t qualify, unless the first flight itself arrived three or more hours late at its own destination.

Connections outside the EU

If the journey started in the EU on one booking, the rules apply even when the connection was outside the EU, as the Court held in Wegener (C-537/17).

What to keep

• the booking confirmation showing all flights
• boarding passes for every flight you took
• your arrival time at the final destination

This is general information, not legal advice for your specific case. We check every claim individually.