Missed connection? What counts is the final arrival.
A first flight 40 minutes late can make you arrive 6 hours late. If all your flights were on a single booking, it is this final delay that counts, and it may entitle you to compensation of up to €600 per passenger.
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Missed connection: your rights in 30 seconds
01 A single booking? The delay is measured on arrival at your final destination, even if only the first flight was late.
02 A 3-hour delay at the final destination gives a right to €250, €400 or €600 per passenger.
03 The distance used is the straight-line distance between the departure airport and the final destination.
04 Two separate tickets? The second airline is not responsible for the delay of the first flight.
A single booking: everything changes
When your flights were bought together, under the same booking reference, the journey is treated as a whole. The Court of Justice of the European Union has confirmed this: only the delay on arrival at the final destination counts, whichever flight caused it.
Example: Toulouse–Paris–Montreal on a single booking. The Toulouse–Paris flight is 45 minutes late, you miss the flight to Montreal and arrive 6 hours late. The distance used is Toulouse–Montreal (about 5,700 km): compensation can reach €600 per passenger.
How much can you receive?
| Flight distance | Example | Compensation per passenger |
|---|---|---|
| Up to 1,500 km | Paris–Rome, Lyon–Porto, Marseille–Algiers | €250 |
| EU flight of more than 1,500 km, or 1,500 to 3,500 km | Paris–Athens, Orly–Marrakech, Paris–Pointe-à-Pitre | €400 |
| More than 3,500 km outside the EU | Paris–New York, Lyon–Montreal | €600 (€300 if the delay is 3 to 4 hours) |
Special cases
- Stopover outside the European Union: a journey departing from the EU with a stopover elsewhere, on a single booking, may be covered as a whole, even if the delay occurs on the second flight.
- Separate tickets (two bookings, often with low-cost airlines): each flight is assessed on its own. A first flight delayed by 2 hours gives no compensation, even if you miss the second one.
- Re-routing: the airline must put you on the next available flight and look after you while you wait (meals, a hotel if necessary).
What to do if you miss your connection?
- Go to the transfer desk to be rebooked on the next flight.
- Keep all your boarding passes, including the one for the missed flight.
- Note the actual arrival time at your final destination.
- Keep your receipts for meals and hotel.
- Have your journey checked: connections are often under-compensated because the final delay is not worked out properly.
Your airline or your airport
By airline (pages in French): Air France · Transavia · easyJet · Ryanair · Volotea · Vueling · Wizz Air · Air Algérie · Royal Air Maroc · Tunisair · Corsair · Air Caraïbes · French bee · Air Austral · Lufthansa · KLM · Iberia · British Airways · Turkish Airlines · Pegasus · Emirates
By airport (pages in French): Roissy-CDG · Orly · Beauvais · Lille · Basel-Mulhouse · Nice · Marseille · Lyon · Toulouse · Bordeaux · Nantes · Algiers · Casablanca · Tunis · Pointe-à-Pitre · Fort-de-France · Réunion · Cayenne
Frequently asked questions
I missed my connection with two separate tickets: do I have any rights?
Each flight is then assessed separately. The first flight only gives a right to compensation if it is itself at least 3 hours late on arrival. The second airline does not have to rebook you for free.
Which distance counts for the amount?
The straight-line distance between the departure airport and your final destination, not the sum of the flights.
Which airline should I contact?
In principle, the airline that operated the flight that caused the delay, usually the first flight.
My stopover was in Istanbul or Dubai: am I covered?
If the journey departs from the EU and is on a single booking, it may be covered as a whole. When departing from a non-EU country, the airline must be European. Have your journey checked.
How long do I have to make a claim?
In France, 5 years after the date of the flight, for flights disrupted before the 2026 European reform comes into force.
Sources: Regulation (EC) No 261/2004 ↗European Union: passenger rights ↗Service-Public (in French) ↗
Information guide updated on 24 October 2026. It does not replace a review of your case.
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