Connecting flights on one booking vs separate tickets: what changes
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On a single booking, a journey with connections is one flight for the Regulation: the delay is measured at the final destination and the distance band uses the whole journey, and this holds even when the connection is outside the EU or the second leg is flown by a non-EU partner. On separate tickets, each flight is its own contract — only the arrival delay of the disrupted flight counts, and a missed onward flight is not the airline's problem.
Posso chiedere una compensazione per una coincidenza persa?
Sì, quando entrambi i voli sono sulla stessa prenotazione: il ritardo si misura alla destinazione finale e 250 €–600 € a passeggero sono dovuti a partire da 3 ore, salvo che la compagnia provi una circostanza eccezionale.
Si applica al suo volo?
Ha perso una coincidenza?
Poche domande brevi: il numero di volo non serve ancora. Ottiene un risultato preliminare sui fatti indicati; la verifica completa lo conferma dall'itinerario.
Già noto da questa pagina
- Coincidenza persa
Con quanto ritardo è arrivato alla destinazione finale?
Conti il ritardo all'apertura delle porte alla destinazione finale, non il ritardo alla partenza.
| Distanza | UE / CH (Reg. 261/2004) | UK261 |
|---|---|---|
| Fino a 1.500 km | 250 € | 220 £ |
| 1.500 – 3.500 km | 400 € | 350 £ |
| Oltre 3.500 km, entrambi gli aeroporti in UE/SEE | 400 € | — |
| Oltre 3.500 km | 600 € | 520 £ |
One booking: the journey is the unit
The Court of Justice settled three points. In Folkerts (C-11/11) the delay is assessed at the final destination: a small delay on the first leg that causes a missed connection and a 3-hour late arrival is compensable. In Wegener (C-537/17) a journey with a stopover outside the EU — Berlin–Casablanca–Agadir on one booking — remains one flight departing the EU, so the Regulation applies to the whole of it. In České aerolinie (C-502/18) the EU carrier that sold the booking is liable for compensation even when the delayed leg was flown by a non-EU partner outside the EU.
The distance band uses the great-circle distance between the first departure airport and the final destination (Bossen, C-559/16), not the sum of the legs.
Separate tickets: each flight stands alone
If you bought two tickets — even with the same airline — the Regulation looks at each flight separately. A 1-hour delay on the first flight that makes you miss the second is not compensable, and the second airline owes you nothing for a no-show. Travel insurance or the airline’s own connection guarantee may help; the Regulation does not.
How to tell which you have
One booking reference covering both flights on a single confirmation, with the airline responsible for the connection, means one booking. Two references, or a “virtual interlining” product from an online travel agent, means separate contracts — read the confirmation carefully.
Rebooked onto a later connection
When the airline rebooks you after a missed connection, the delay is still measured against the original scheduled arrival at the final destination. Keep the original itinerary and the new boarding passes.
Where to claim
From the operating carrier of the disrupted leg or, on a single booking, from the carrier that sold the ticket; both can be liable. Use the airline page for the claim channel.
Fonti
- Court of Justice of the European UnionCase C-559/16 Bossen v Brussels Airlines — the distance is the great-circle distance between the first departure and the final destination
- Court of Justice of the European UnionCase C-502/18 České aerolinie — the Community carrier operating the first leg is liable for a delay caused on a connecting leg operated by a non-EU carrier
- Court of Justice of the European UnionCase C-11/11 Air France v Folkerts — compensation for connecting flights depends on the delay at the final destination
- Court of Justice of the European UnionCase C-537/17 Wegener v Royal Air Maroc — a journey with a connection under a single booking departing from an EU airport is covered as a whole
- European CommissionInterpretative Guidelines on Regulation (EC) No 261/2004 (2016/C 214/04)
- European Parliament and CouncilRegulation (EC) No 261/2004 establishing common rules on compensation and assistance to passengers in the event of denied boarding and of cancellation or long delay of flights
Ultima revisione legale: 12 settembre 2026 · Contenuto aggiornato: 12 settembre 2026
Coincidenza persa perché il primo volo era in ritardo?
Inserisca entrambi i voli; la verifica misura il ritardo alla destinazione finale e le dice se l'intero viaggio conta come un solo volo.