Missed your connecting flight because of a delay? What happens next in the US and Canada

If your first flight is late and you miss your connection, what happens next depends on one thing: were both flights on the same ticket? On one ticket, the airline is responsible for getting you to your destination and rebooks you on the next available flight at no extra cost. On separate tickets, the second airline sees you as a no-show, and you may have to buy a new ticket.

This guide covers flights in the US and Canada as of September 2026. For trips to or from Europe, read the EU rules instead. This isn't legal advice.

One ticket or two?

• One ticket (one booking, one confirmation code). The airline sold you the whole trip, including the connection. If a late inbound makes you miss it, the airline rebooks you. Your checked bags are usually tagged to your final destination, except that after an international flight into the US you collect and recheck them at your first US airport.
• Separate tickets. Each flight is its own contract. If the first is late, the second airline has no duty to wait, rebook or refund you. Your bags usually aren't checked through either, so you'd need time to collect and recheck them.

If you book separately to save money, leave a much longer layover, ideally with a spare flight later the same day.

What to do when you see it coming

1. Check before you board. If your first flight is already delayed, ask the gate agent or use your airline's app or website to see whether you'll make the connection. Airlines can sometimes rebook you before you take off.
2. Look at both airports. Delays at your connecting airport can hold your first flight on the ground. The FAA suggests checking both the departure and arrival airports.
3. Tell the flight attendants if the connection is tight. They sometimes know which connections are being held or which gates are close.
4. After landing, go straight to your next gate. The departure screens show whether your connection is still boarding.
5. Missed it? Go to your airline's transfer or customer service desk or use its app to rebook. Don't buy a new ticket before talking to the airline.
6. Keep receipts for meals, hotels and transportation.

In the United States

• Rebooking. On one ticket, rebooking on the next available flight is standard. DOT says all of the 10 largest US airlines guarantee free rebooking when a disruption is within their control, and every US airline's customer service plan must describe what it does for passengers who miss connections.
• Meals and hotels. Not required by law, but the largest airlines commit to a meal, and all but one of them to a hotel, when an overnight delay or cancellation is their fault. Disruptions outside the airline's control, such as weather, usually aren't covered.
• Refund instead. If the new itinerary arrives 3 hours or more later on a domestic trip (6 hours on an international trip), or adds a connection, it counts as a significant change under DOT's refund rule. If you'd rather not travel, you can ask for a refund.
• Cash compensation. There's no federal requirement for delays or missed connections. See what US rules say you're owed.

In Canada

Canada's Air Passenger Protection Regulations apply to flights to, from and within Canada, including connecting flights:

• Rebooking. For a delay of 3 hours or more, the airline must rebook you, and a large airline must find you a flight within 9 hours on itself or a partner, or within 48 hours on any airline, when the disruption is within its control or needed for safety.
• Food and a place to sleep. After 2 hours of waiting, food and drink; a hotel if you have to stay overnight.
• Compensation. When the disruption is within the airline's control and not required for safety, you can claim $400, $700 or $1,000 from a large airline depending on how late you arrive at your final destination. See flight delay compensation in Canada.

Watch both flights

Add both flights to FlyingOver before you travel. You'll follow the first flight offline and see its estimated arrival, and with Premium, connection guidance shows at a glance whether your layover still looks comfortable, whether you need to keep moving, or whether you should go directly to the gate. Once you're back online, times update with live data.