In short: under UK261 and EU261, a connecting journey is treated as one trip only if the flights were booked together on one reservation. If you booked two separate tickets – say Ryanair from Dublin to Stansted and then easyJet from Stansted to Split – each flight stands alone. If the first is late and you miss the second, the second airline owes you no rebooking, no care and no compensation; you have to buy a new ticket. You can still claim for the first flight itself if it arrived 3 hours or more late, and you may be able to claim further losses, but it is harder.
Booking separate tickets (“self-transfer”) can save a lot of money. It also moves the risk of a missed connection from the airline to you. Here is how the rules apply.
One booking vs separate bookings
The regulation measures delay at your final destination. Article 2(h) defines this as the destination on the ticket presented at check-in or, for directly connecting flights, the destination of the last flight. UK261 now adds, in Article 3(1A), that a flight made up of more than one leg is treated as a whole where it was booked as a single unit.
| One booking (e.g. Manchester–Amsterdam–Nairobi on one ticket) | Separate bookings (e.g. two tickets, two booking references) | |
|---|---|---|
| Final destination | The end of the whole journey | The end of each separate flight |
| Missed second flight because the first was late | Airline must re-route you | You must buy a new ticket |
| Care during the wait at the connecting airport | Yes, by total journey distance | Only for the delayed flight itself |
| Compensation | Based on arrival at the final destination, distance first-to-last airport | Only for each flight’s own arrival delay |
| Baggage | Usually checked through | Usually collected and checked in again |
The UK Civil Aviation Authority is explicit: on self-transfer journeys on separate bookings, you do not have a statutory right to care, compensation or transport to your last destination – though each individual flight still carries its own entitlements.
What you can still claim on separate tickets
1. Compensation for the delayed first flight. If the first flight itself arrived 3 hours or more late at its destination and the cause was within the airline’s control, you can claim the fixed amount for that flight’s distance: £220 / £350 / £520 under UK261 or €250 / €400 / €600 under EU261. Example: if your Dublin–Stansted flight was 3 hours 20 minutes late because of a crew shortage, you can claim for that flight (under 1,500 km), even though the missed onward flight is not covered.
2. Care during the first flight’s delay. Meals, refreshments and calls once the first flight’s departure delay hits the 2, 3 or 4-hour threshold for its distance (meal vouchers).
3. Further losses – possible, not guaranteed. The cost of the replacement ticket for the missed flight is not covered by the fixed compensation scheme. Article 12 of the regulation preserves your right to “further compensation” under other law, and the Montreal Convention allows claims for damage caused by delay unless the airline shows it took all reasonable measures. Which? describes consequential loss claims of this kind as possible but tricky. Expect to have to prove the loss, the delay and the link between them.
4. Travel insurance. Some policies cover missed departures or connections; others exclude them. The Financial Ombudsman Service says a restriction to the first outbound or return leg should have been clearly highlighted when you bought the policy. See travel insurance vs compensation.
Same airline, two bookings?
It is the booking, not the airline, that matters. Two Ryanair flights booked separately are still two separate journeys under the regulation. Any help an airline gives you with a missed self-booked connection is goodwill or a commercial policy, not a legal right under UK261 or EU261 – check its terms before relying on it.
Booked through an online agent that combined the flights?
Some online travel agents sell “virtual interlining” itineraries: flights from different airlines combined into one purchase, often with the agent’s own “guarantee” against missed connections. Whether such a combination is a single reservation for the purposes of the regulation depends on the facts – above all, whether the airline accepted and registered the journey as one booking (Article 2(g) defines a reservation as a ticket or other proof that the reservation “has been accepted and registered by the air carrier or tour operator”). If each flight has its own airline booking reference, assume they are separate and read the agent’s guarantee terms carefully. See booked through a travel agent.
How to reduce the risk
- Leave a long buffer. Several hours at minimum, more in summer or when the first flight is the last of the day.
- Avoid the last connection of the day – if you miss it, you pay for a hotel as well.
- Check whether you must collect bags and re-clear security, and whether you need to pass immigration (for example, arriving in the UK from Schengen and connecting onwards).
- Prefer a single booking for important trips (weddings, cruises, long-haul departures). The price difference buys you re-routing, care and compensation.
- Buy insurance that explicitly covers missed connections on separate tickets, and read the exclusions.
- Keep evidence of the first flight’s delay: screenshots, the airline’s notification, and the time the doors opened.
If you missed the second flight: what to do now
- Contact the second airline immediately and ask whether you can change to a later flight for a fee – compare that with the price of a new ticket.
- Keep receipts for the new ticket, hotel and meals.
- Claim compensation and care costs for the first flight from its operating airline (use our checker to see whether the delay qualifies).
- If the first airline caused the delay, consider a further claim for the new ticket under the Montreal Convention, and/or a claim on your travel insurance.
- If the claim is refused, see claim rejected – what next.
For journeys that were on one booking, the rules are much more favourable – see our missed connection guide.
Sources
- Regulation (EC) No 261/2004 – Article 2 (Definitions), UK version – legislation.gov.uk
- Regulation (EC) No 261/2004 – Article 3 (Scope), UK version – legislation.gov.uk
- Regulation (EC) No 261/2004 – Article 12 (Further compensation), UK version – legislation.gov.uk
- Delays – UK Civil Aviation Authority
- Missed departure, delay and abandonment – Financial Ombudsman Service
- Air passenger rights – Your Europe, European Union