Separate tickets or one booking: what protection

The short version

According to the UK Civil Aviation Authority, a journey made of separate bookings carries no statutory right to care, compensation or onward transport under UK rules if a delay makes you miss a flight. A journey on one booking is treated differently. Check this before you rely on a tight connection.

One booking

According to the CAA, if your booking includes two or more flights, your rights are based on the distance between the first and last airport. The airline must provide care if you miss a connection because of a delay on the first flight. Compensation depends on arriving at your final destination more than three hours late. Late arrival at the connection airport does not count.

Separate bookings

According to the CAA, if your journey includes two or more separate bookings, sometimes called self-transfer, you do not have a statutory right to care, compensation or transport to your last destination if delays make you miss a flight. The entitlements for each individual flight still apply.

The EU position

According to Your Europe, if you miss a connecting flight, EU rights can apply when the delay to your arrival was not caused by extraordinary circumstances. The part of the page we read does not say how separate bookings are treated, so check the official page and each airline's rules.

Queues at the airport

According to the CAA, if you miss a flight because of long queues at security, even though you arrived on time, an airline is unlikely to pay compensation or provide a free alternative flight. That statement is about security queues, not border queues. If you have travel insurance, the CAA suggests contacting your insurer and keeping receipts.

Border checks inside a connection

According to the Austrian Interior Ministry, EES applies at the first Schengen entry and the last Schengen exit. If your connection includes that border check, its queue sits inside your connection time. The connection check estimates how much time it may need.