What to Do if You Miss Your Connecting Flight in Europe (Plus the Data)

I've been there. You're sitting on one flight, anxiously checking the time, knowing the window is getting smaller and smaller for you to run through the airport in hopes of catching the next one.

Not only is it incredibly inconvenient, it is also stressful, annoying, anger-inducing... oftentimes all of the above and then some. Plus, it can end up costing you, depending on your plans ahead, with or without travel insurance. It's no way anyone wants to start or end a trip.

I took a look at passenger rights in the European Union, and if you've missed your connecting flight in Europe, there are a few things that you can (and should) do. I also downloaded some of the most recent data about European airport delays and causes.

Beyond passenger rights, there are also best practices to look at, as well as "frequent flier hacks", self-proclaimed or otherwise. For instance, once, I missed my connection, and while everyone rushed towards the customer service counter, I got in line and on the phone (to the airline). I was able to get through to an agent on the phone way faster than the line was moving, where 20 desperate people were also eager to grab up whatever options were left.

Your passenger rights in the EU

27 European countries are a part of the European Union. For all intents and purposes, countries in the EU follow similar legal frameworks, especially when it comes to things like rights.

In the EU, missed connections that cause long delays mean something pretty simple: you get paid. Now, unfortunately, it's a bit more nuanced than that, but it's a great safety net, so long as you actually know it exists.

When you get paid:

If you end up arriving at your destination more than 3 hours late (due to a missed connection), you could be owed compensation from the airline.

There are some criteria you need to meet to qualify, though.

First, your flights need to have been booked as a single reservation (not separate ones). Second, you need to meet the air passenger rights requirements set by the EU:

• Your flight is within the EU and is operated by any airline (EU or non-EU)
• Your flight arrived in the EU from outside of the EU, but is operated by an EU airline.
• Your flight departed from the EU and went to a non-EU country, operated by any airline (EU or non-EU)
• You haven't already received benefits, including re-routing, compensation, or other assistance from the airline (see more specific details here)

While EU laws typically only apply in EU member countries (makes sense), the air passenger rights also apply in non-EU Schengen countries (which means Iceland, Norway, and Switzerland too!).

Additionally, the EU says that compensation is only your right if the delay wasn't caused by "extraordinary circumstances."

Air passenger rights in the UK

There are some circumstances where you can be legally entitled to compensation in the UK. For context, the United Kingdom used to be a part of the European Union, but it left it (famously known as Brexit).

Because of that, EU passenger rights don't apply in the United Kingdom, but the UK does have its own. If a flight is delayed or cancelled, airlines can be required to compensate affected passengers.

In order to qualify, a couple of things have to happen. One, you have to have been notably inconvenienced. The UK Civil Aviation Authority says that "slight delays" may not apply.

On top of that, the reason for the delay is important. Same as the EU, "extraordinary circumstances" aren't covered.

What is an extraordinary circumstance?

The UK says that an extraordinary circumstance, in the context of flight delays and cancellations, is when the reason for the setback is out of the airline's control.

This can be obvious when it comes to things like weather - surely airlines don't control that. But what about things like technical failures?

According to the case  KLM v van der Lans, the European Court decided that technical problems are not extraordinary circumstances. Well, in most cases anyway. They are considered as such when they're due to hidden manufacturer defaults or tampering (specifically sabotage and terrorism).

Always contact your airline

When you're at the airport, as soon as you know you have missed (or are going to miss) your flight, contact your airline. At the airport, within the security area, there will be a customer service desk and representative (sometimes more than one).

That said, when you miss a connecting flight, oftentimes others have too, especially if they were on the same first flight as you and that flight was delayed. This is why it isn't a bad idea to get in line at the counter, but also call the customer service of your airline.

Missing a connecting flight can feel overwhelming in the moment, but you have to remember that airlines deal with this all day, every day (unfortunately), so it isn't their first rodeo.

Ask them what your options are, such as:

• The next earliest flight to your destination.
• Hotels, if the flight really sets you back.
• Meal vouchers if you're "stranded" for a longer period of time.
• Extras, if your checked luggage isn't with you and the delay is long (some airlines may be able to provide a few toiletry essentials like a toothbrush, toothpaste, and a t-shirt, for example).

These are the standard asks, but it's also worth asking for:

• Flight credits
• Upgrades on your next flight (or a future flight)
• Refunds
• Stipends or compensation

Keep in mind that if the airline does provide flight credits, upgrades, refunds, stipends, etc., you may no longer fall within the criteria we talked about earlier to receive "mandatory" compensation.

If you're claiming compensation within your rights

If you're eligible for legally mandated compensation, there are a few courses of action that you can take.

According to the European Union, your first step is to contact the airline. They should be able to help you by either giving you compensation, and/or setting you up with your next steps (getting you rebooked, hotels, food if applicable, etc.).

If the airline doesn't reply to you (an unanswered email or call, for example), or you feel it's necessary to take the complaint further, there are more legal actions you can take, like reporting the situation to the national authority or even taking the airline to small claims court.

What does compensation look like?

For European flights, compensation can look like several different things. When most people hear compensation, they think cash or reimbursement, but that isn't necessarily the case.

For Regulation (EC) 261 in the EU, it does mean monetary compensation. However, airlines can also compensate with re-booking, flight credits, hotels, meal vouchers, etc.

If you fall within the eligibility for compensation under (EC) 261 (delay of 3 hours or more, you meet the requirements, etc.), you can be eligible for:

EU airports with the most delays

Nowadays, organizations keep (and oftentimes publish) data for pretty much anything, especially when it comes to things that are public-facing. I think it would be interesting to take a look at the available information around delays.

Eurocontrol has a living table showing Air Traffic Flow Management delays in nearly real time. What's interesting about this is that you can see which airports struggle the most with delays, including the average delay per flight that leaves their gates.

These are averages, so they're not necessarily a good indicator as to whether or not your flight will be delayed. After all, there are so many factors that come into play, like the specific airline, weather, seasonality (peak tourist season means lots of people, lots of flights), etc.

When you look at this table, you can see that Athens and Palma de Mallorca have way more delay "minutes" than other airports. Still, the average delay per flight is low across the board. Not one airport had an average of more than 5 minutes per flight.

Again, these are averages.

Still, it's a fun exercise to look at. If 44 flights went out on time, and one was three hours late, the average would be about four minutes, as it is for Athens and Palma de Mallorca.

This isn't to say that out of every 45 flights, 44 are on time and one has a massive delay; it's to give you context as to what those numbers could look like if you thought about them in more practical terms.

Reasons for delays

When it comes to compensation, knowing the reason for a delay is as important as the delay itself. The reason for it directly influences whether or not you're eligible under EU law.

Before you look at the following chart, it's helpful to know that the "share of overall delays" is cause attribution. This means that together, they don't add up to 100%. Instead, there is a lot of overlap when it comes to airport delays. For instance, there may be an issue with staffing, as well as weather, for the same flight.

In-flight air traffic control takes up the largest percentage at nearly 70%. This can be due to several things, but one of them is congestion in the air. When the airspace is heavily congested, a plane can't take off quite yet. In-flight air traffic control is different from Airport Traffic Control (ATC), which monitors on the ground situations, like runway availability, taxi sequencing, ground movement, etc. Getting a plane off the ground is a bit like synchronized swimming - everything needs to happen in a safe, controlled way.

There can be delays with both in-flight ATC and on the ground ATC at the same time, or one or the other. It all depends on what's happening in the sky and on the ground.

Second is staffing and capacity issues, which do fall on the airline.

Weather, "other", and disruptions are the least common reasons why flights are delayed, surprisingly enough.

The data is interesting, but again, I wouldn't use it as an indicator as to whether your flight will be delayed and/or why.

So, you missed your connection...

• Know your passenger rights.
• Contact your airline for re-booking, etc.