What are my rights if I miss a connecting flight?

Self-connecting itineraries built from two cheap tickets are one of the biggest changes in how people book flights, and almost nobody understands what they have given up to save the money. The distinction is not about which airline, or whether the flights are on the same day. It is about how many contracts of carriage exist.

Safety

Step by step

1. Establish which kind of booking you have.One booking reference covering both legs, with bags checked through to the final destination and boarding passes issued for both, is a connection. Two separate references, two separate payments, bags reclaimed and re-checked, is two journeys. Airlines within the same alliance can still sell two separate tickets.
2. On a single booking, go straight to the transfer desk.The airline is obliged to reroute you to your final destination at the earliest opportunity at no additional cost. Do not book anything yourself first — doing so can be treated as declining the rerouting.
3. Claim the duty of care while you wait.Food, drink, communications and a hotel with transfers if the rebooking is the next day, exactly as for any delay. Keep receipts if the airline does not provide it directly.
4. Measure compensation at the final destination.On a single booking, the qualifying delay is your arrival delay at the final destination, not at the connecting airport. A short delay on the first leg that costs you a connection can produce a long qualifying delay overall.
5. On separate tickets, act immediately and commercially.No rebooking obligation exists. Contact the second airline as soon as you know — some will move you to a later flight for a change fee rather than treating it as a no-show, and the earlier you ask, the more likely that is. Then check travel insurance, which sometimes covers missed departure, and any self-transfer protection sold with the booking.
6. Check what the delay on the first leg entitles you to separately.Even on separate tickets, the delayed first flight may itself qualify for compensation and duty of care. That is a claim against the first airline and is unaffected by what happened to the second ticket.
7. Build the connection properly next time.For a self-connection, leave several hours, prefer the same airport, and avoid a terminal change. For a through booking, the airline's own minimum connection time is the floor rather than a recommendation.

Alternatives

• Through booking on one reference: Costs more, sometimes considerably. Carries the rebooking obligation, bags checked through, and compensation measured at the final destination. The right choice for anything where missing the connection would be expensive.
• Self-connection with a long gap: Cheapest, and workable if the gap is long enough to absorb a normal delay and you can reclaim and re-check bags. The risk stays with you.
• Self-transfer protection: Sold by some booking sites as part of a self-connecting itinerary. It is a commercial guarantee rather than a statutory right, so read what it actually promises and who provides it.
• Overnight at the connecting city: Turns one risky itinerary into two independent ones and often costs less than the through fare. Worth pricing.

Questions people ask