If you miss your connection during a flight with layovers from point “A” to point “C,” involving an intermediate stop at point “B,” you have the right to file a claim. For instance, if you take a flight from Madrid to New York with a layover in Paris to save on costs, you can still submit a claim in this case.
If you wish to claim compensation for a flight with layovers or a connection, here are your rights according to the European Union Regulation 261/2004. You have the right to claim compensation for missed connection or layover in case of a delayed flight of more than 3 hours, cancellation, overbooking, or lost baggage. The delay is calculated from the departure point to the final destination. If you arrive with a delay of 3 hours or more compared to the arrival time stated on your ticket, you are entitled to compensation ranging from €250 to €600, depending on the flight distance.
Please note that compensation for a flight with layovers depends on the number of kilometers traveled and is calculated according to the following table:
FLIGHT DISTANCE IN KILOMETERS:
Up to 1,500 km: €250
1,500 to 3,500 km: €400
Over 3,500 km: Intra-community flights €400, Extra-community flights €600
What you need to consider when claiming for a flight compensation with layovers or a connection:
If you have booked a flight with layovers in a single reservation (with a connection):
When you book a flight with layovers in a single reservation, connecting from point “A” to point “C” with a layover at point “B,” such as Madrid-Paris-New York, it is considered a single flight. The airline is obligated to transport you to your final destination, in this case, New York. In the event of flight cancellation, whether at the departure or during the layover, the airline is required to take you to your final destination without additional cost. They should cover expenses for food and accommodation and rearrange another flight.
Following this mandatory reorganization, you have the right to claim compensation based on the number of kilometers of the flight (in this case, €600, as the canceled flight would be from Madrid to New York, a distance exceeding 3,500 km). In addition to compensation for missed connection, you can also claim not only the expenses you incurred if the airline does not meet its obligations but also all the costs you would have had to bear and the damages suffered: cancellation of hotel reservations at the destination, car rental costs, guided tours, etc. If the flight is not reorganized, you have the right to claim the cost of the new flight you have to purchase.
If you have booked your flights by making 2 separate reservations to connect them as layovers (without a real connection):
Sometimes, instead of making a single reservation with layovers, travel agencies or travelers themselves book flights separately, meaning in distinct reservations (without a direct connection). In this case, the first airline is responsible for transporting you from “A” to “B,” while the second airline handles the journey from “B” to “C.” If the first flight is canceled, the second airline has no obligation to take you to your final destination “C” because the contract of the first airline only covers the journey from “A” to “B.” As a result, the second reservation is lost, and the second airline is not required to provide a replacement flight.
You should also be aware that…
In the case of a delay leading to the loss of the second flight, two situations may arise:
If your first flight is delayed by more than 3 hours or is canceled, leading to the loss of your layover (without a real connection):
If the first airline experiences a delay of more than 3 hours or cancels the flight, resulting in the loss of your second reservation, you have the right to claim compensation for the cancellation or delay of the flight from “A” to “B”. Additionally, you are entitled to compensation for damages, including the cost of the lost second reservation (even the cost of the new reservation you make to go from “B” to “C”).
In other words, if you have two separate reservations, the first from Madrid to Paris and the second from Paris to New York, and you experience a delay of more than 3 hours or a cancellation on the first flight, you can claim €250 (in the case of a flight cancellation of less than 1,500 km, such as from Madrid to Paris), as well as the cost of the lost second reservation, in addition to expenses and damages incurred.
If the delay of your first flight is less than 3 hours, and you miss your layover (without a real connection)…
In this situation, there is a problem because the first airline does not experience enough delay to claim compensation or damages. Therefore, you cannot claim compensation or damages from the first airline for missing the second reservation, and as a result, the second reservation is lost without any recourse.
In other words, for example, if your flight from Madrid to Paris is delayed by 2 hours but less than 3 hours, and you cannot take the second flight, you cannot claim compensation from the airline that took you to Paris because it did not violate the law that provides compensation of €250 to €600 for a delay of more than 3 hours. Since there was only a delay of 2 hours. Furthermore, the second airline, which was supposed to take you from Madrid to New York, is not responsible for your decision not to purchase a combined ticket. For them, it’s as if you did not appear.
Therefore, it is strongly recommended to opt systematically for a ticket including layovers.
How to determine the flight distance to claim a compensation for missed connections
To calculate the flight distance, it is necessary to consider the departure point and the final destination, following the decision of the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) dated September 7, 2017. According to this decision, only the straight-line distance, known as the great-circle distance or orthodromic distance—the shortest path between two points on the Earth’s surface—between the departure and arrival airports during a direct flight should be taken into account.
This means that layovers should not be considered.
In the case of a flight from Bilbao to Madrid followed by a flight from Madrid to London, only the distance between Bilbao and London, which is 941 km, should be considered for the claim. This distance is less than 1,500 km, corresponding to compensation of €250 according to the current regulations.
If the layover from Bilbao to Madrid is added, it adds an additional 646 km, exceeding the total journey of 1,500 km. This leads to an incorrect calculation of the flight compensation of missed connection, which should then be €400 according to the tariff grid.
In this scenario, only compensation of €250 would be applicable.
