Guide
Missed your connecting flight: what happens next
Whether a missed connection is a nuisance or a disaster depends almost entirely on one question: were both flights on the same ticket? If they were, getting you to your destination is the airline's problem. If they were not, it is yours. Everything else in this guide follows from that.
On this page
One ticket or two?
Look at your confirmation. If both flights share one booking reference and one ticket number, they are a single itinerary, even if two different airlines operate them (a codeshare or interline ticket). If you bought them separately, perhaps to save money or to mix a long-haul flight with a budget domestic carrier, each is its own contract and neither airline has agreed to protect the other's flight.
| Same ticket | Separate tickets | |
|---|---|---|
| Who rebooks you | The airline, onto a later flight, normally at no charge | You, by buying a new ticket or changing the second one on its own fare rules |
| Checked bags | Normally checked through to the final destination | Often need to be collected and checked in again |
| If you no longer want to travel | A refund may be due if the journey is significantly delayed or changed | The second airline treats you as a no-show unless its rules say otherwise |
| Meals or a hotel overnight | Depends on the airline's own customer service commitments and the cause | Rarely, from the second airline |
If you are on one ticket
When the first flight is late and you miss the second, the airline that sold the ticket is expected to rebook you on its next reasonable option. US rules do not set a rebooking deadline, but every covered airline must adopt a customer service plan, and under 14 CFR 259.5 that plan must identify the services the airline provides to reduce the inconvenience of cancellations and misconnections. Read it, or the airline's contract of carriage, before you argue at the desk; it is the airline's own written promise.
Practical steps, in order:
- Check the app before you land. Airlines often rebook automatically, and the new flight may already be in your booking.
- If it is not, rebook through the app or a transfer desk rather than the longest queue in the terminal. Ask for alternatives on partner airlines if the next flight is hours away.
- Ask whether your bag will follow you onto the new flight, and get the bag-tag number checked.
- Ask what the airline will provide if you are stuck overnight, and keep receipts for anything you pay for.
When you are owed a refund instead
If the airline's offer would get you there very late, you may not have to accept it. Under 14 CFR 260.2 and 260.6, a ticket is significantly changed when, among other things, you would arrive three or more hours late on a domestic itinerary (six or more internationally), you would be routed through more connection points than before, or you would depart or arrive at a different airport. If you choose not to travel in that situation, the airline must refund the fare, including taxes and fees, rather than insist on a voucher. Our guide to refund rights when a flight is cancelled or delayed covers the timelines.
If you are on separate tickets
This is where travellers lose money. The second airline sold you a seat on a specific flight and has no obligation to hold it because a different airline was late. Depending on its fare rules you may be able to change for a fee and the fare difference, keep some value as a credit, or lose the ticket entirely. A no-show on the outbound can also cancel the return on many fares, so contact the second airline before departure time if you can see you will miss it.
Ways to reduce the risk if you must book separately:
- Leave a much longer gap than the airline's minimum connection time, and longer still if you clear immigration and customs between flights.
- Choose a flexible fare for the second flight, so a change costs the fare difference rather than the whole ticket.
- Avoid the last flight of the day on the second leg.
- Check travel insurance wording for "missed connection" cover; some policies include it and some do not.
We explain why separate tickets go wrong for visitors arriving from abroad in booking US flights from the UK or Canada.
Connecting after an international arrival
Arriving in the US from abroad and connecting onward means passport control, collecting your checked bag, customs, and re-checking the bag before the next flight, even on a single ticket. US refund rules recognise this: an airline does not owe a bag-fee refund for a delayed bag if the delay happened because you did not collect and re-check it at your first US entry point as US Customs and Border Protection requires (14 CFR 260.5). Build in time for that step. If the bag is lost or late anyway, see lost and delayed luggage compensation.
Missed it because you were late?
The protections above are for connections broken by the airline. If you miss the second flight because you lingered, missed a boarding call, or arrived at the airport late for the first, the airline will usually treat it under its no-show and change rules instead. It is still worth asking politely what the airline can do, but any help is at its discretion. For general change costs, see changing or cancelling a flight.
And if you missed the connection because the first aircraft sat on the ground for hours, the separate tarmac delay rules set what the airline had to provide while you waited.
Common questions
What happens if I miss my connecting flight because of a delay?
If both flights are on the same ticket, the airline rebooks you on a later flight, normally at no charge. If they are on separate tickets, the second airline is not obliged to help, and you may need to change or replace that ticket on its own fare rules.
Can I get a refund if I miss my connection?
On a single ticket, if the airline's alternative would get you in three or more hours late on a domestic trip (six or more internationally), add connection points, or use a different airport, and you choose not to travel, you are entitled to a refund of the fare under 14 CFR Part 260.
Do airlines have to give me a hotel if I miss a connection overnight?
US rules do not set a universal hotel entitlement. Each airline must describe in its customer service plan what it provides after cancellations and misconnections, and what it offers often depends on whether the cause was within its control. Ask, and keep receipts.
Does my checked bag follow me if I am rebooked?
On a single ticket it normally does, but ask the agent to confirm your bag-tag number is linked to the new flight. On separate tickets you will usually need to collect and re-check it yourself.
Sources
- 14 CFR Part 260, Refunds for Airline Fare and Ancillary Service Fees (eCFR)
- 14 CFR 259.5, Customer Service Plan (eCFR)
- US Department of Transportation: File a consumer complaint
General information, not legal advice about your situation. Trailisse is an independent travel agency; the airline's contract of carriage and the regulations are the authority.