If a delayed first flight caused you to miss a connection booked on the same ticket, and you reached your final destination 3+ hours late, EU261/UK261 treats the whole journey as one — you claim based on the total distance to the final destination, even if the delay that started it all was short.
[Your name / address / email / phone]
[Date]
[Operating airline] — Customer Relations / Claims
Re: Compensation claim — missed connection — Reg (EC) No 261/2004
Booking [PNR]: [origin] → [connection point] → [final destination]
Flights [flight 1 number] and [flight 2 number], [date]
Dear Sir or Madam,
I travelled on a single booking ([PNR]) from [origin] to [final
destination] via [connection airport] on [date]. Flight [1] from [origin]
arrived late into [connection airport], causing me to miss my connecting
flight [2]. I was re-booked and finally arrived at [final destination] at
[actual time] — [X hours Y minutes] after my originally scheduled arrival.
Per the Court of Justice in Folkerts (C-11/11), compensation under
Article 7 of Regulation (EC) No 261/2004 is based on the delay at the
FINAL destination. My delay there exceeded 3 hours, so I am entitled to
EUR [amount] for the [origin]–[final destination] distance ([____] km,
band [____]).
I am not aware of any extraordinary circumstances; the burden of proving
any rests with the airline. Please pay EUR [amount] within 14 days.
Yours faithfully,
[Signature / printed name]
Key points
- Single booking matters. This works when both legs are on one ticket/PNR. Two separately booked tickets are generally treated as independent journeys, and a missed self-transfer usually isn’t covered.
- Distance = origin to final destination (great-circle), not just the delayed leg — so a missed long-haul connection often lands in the €600 / £520 band. Check the amounts table.
- Who to claim from: the operating air carrier (the airline that ran the delayed flight), even if you booked through another airline or an agent.
Watch the connection eligibility. The journey must be a single booking and the operating carrier must be an EU/UK carrier, or the journey must depart from the EU/UK, for 261 to apply. For routings that begin outside the EU/UK on a non-EU airline, see the amounts/eligibility page — a different regime (or none) may apply.
Refused? Check extraordinary circumstances, then escalate.