KLM Missed Connection Compensation

KLM missed connection compensation.

How much can you claim? What happens if you miss your flight?

Most people don’t know this, but in many situations you can claim compensation for a missed flight connection. It doesn’t matter where are you from, the price of your ticket, and whether you have a travel insurance or not — mostly none of that matters. That’s just the laws in the European Union, and KLM has to follow these laws. KLM also has to pay compensation when it is due.

You can claim it yourself, or you can hand it over to professionals.

1. EU Missed Flight Connection Compensation

What happens if you miss your KLM connecting flight ?

Are you entitled to compensation?

In short — you may be. 

The rules in these situations are super simple.

1.1 Missed Connecting Flight Due to Delay: Compensation 

You made it 3 or more hours later, and it was fault of KLM.

If you’re flying to or from Europe, and you reach your destination 3 or more hours later, and it’s due to the airline’s fault — you are entitled to compensation up to €600. If you’re flying with a non-EU airline, it applies only to flights departing from Europe. KLM is a European airline. So, the rules apply to all KLM flights to, within and from Europe.

• 3+ hour delay;
• It’s fault of KLM;
• Flight is to/from Europe.

The same rules apply to connecting flights.

Your destination in this case is your final destination.

If you are flying from Paris to Dubai via Amsterdam, Dubai is your final destination. If you have made it to Dubai 3 or more hours later due to fault of KLM, you will be entitled to compensation for missed connection flight for the whole “Paris – Dubai” journey.

Don’t forget to file a compensation claim!

1.2 Missing a Connecting Flight Due to Cancellation

The rules are the same as with flight delays.

If you’re flying to or from Europe, and you reach your destination 3 or more hours later, and it’s the airline’s fault, you are entitled to compensation up to €600. You can get missed connection flight compensation if your previous flight is cancelled due to fault of KLM, and as a result you have missed another flight.

• It’s fault of KLM;
• Flight is to/from Europe.

These rules apply only to connecting flights.

It doesn’t apply to self transfer flights. You can’t get compensation, if your flights are booked separately. For example, if you have one flight with KLM and one with Wizz Air, and your flight with KLM is cancelled, KLM is liable only for their flight. You can get compensation for this one KLM flight when it’s due, but KLM won’t offer you any help with your Wizz Air flight.

Don’t forget to file a compensation claim!

By Europe and EU here on this page we mean all EU Member States, the United Kingdom (UK), Guadeloupe, French Guiana, Martinique, Reunion, Mayotte, Saint Martin (French Antilles), the Azores, Madeira, the Canary Islands, Iceland, Norway, and Switzerland.

1.3 Extraordinary Circumstances

These are the situations when it’s not fault of KLM.

If you miss a flight due to things like extreme weather conditions or airport staff strike, in these situations you can’t get compensation. When in doubt, double check what you’re told.

Another option is to hand over the case to a flight compensation company, for them to double check it on your behalf. Just to be sure you aren’t being lied to. For example, technical problems with the airplane mostly are considered fault of airline (not extraordinary circumstances). 

Just fill in our claim form, and our partners will do that for you.

1.4 Right to Care

If you have to wait at the airport, you have a right to care.

For example, your flight arrived late due to fault of KLM, you missed connection flight, and now you have to wait for another flight. According to connection flight rules, KLM has to offer you a new flight for free. In this case you also have a right to care from KLM, as long as the waiting time at the airport is at least 3 hours more than planned.

• After 3 hours of waiting KLM must offer you free meals and drinks in a reasonable relation to the waiting time, plus two free phone calls, e-mails or faxes.
• In case of an overnight delay, free hotel accommodation must also be offered (+ free transfer).

2. How to Claim KLM Flight Compensation?

There are two ways to claim EU flight compensation.

One of the options is to contact KLM directly. Contact KLM customer support center via their website, and request compensation for missed connection. Be prepared that it may take months. Be also prepared to negotiations. It’s great if you know how much later you arrived to your destination, and have some sort of proof to show. 

You can also take the easiest path — legal representation.

In this case everything is handled by legal professionals. 

Our partners offer such services.

2.1 How Long Does It Take?

Mostly it takes at least a couple of months.

On average it takes between 2 to 3 months.

It’s from the moment you file a claim until your KLM flight compensation arrives in your bank account. Every time there’s a need to take a case to national enforcement body or court, it adds at least a couple of months, sometimes 6+ months to the whole process. That’s one of the reasons why so many choose to work with flight compensation companies instead of doing everything themselves — because it can end up being a lot of work.

3. How Much Can You Claim?

The compensation amount is fixed and range from €250 to €600.

Here is how you can calculate the amount of KLM flight compensation:

When destination is within the EU:

When your destination is outside the EU:

There’s one exception. When the distance is 3500 kilometres or more and you reach your destination 3 to 4 hours later, you are entitled to compensation of €300, not €600. If the delay is longer than 4 hours, you will get full compensation of €600.

3.1 KLM Voucher Refund or Cash?

You might be offered a voucher instead of compensation.

Many airlines were offering coupons during COVID crisis. 

However, you don’t have to accept a voucher or coupon. Unless, of course, you want a coupon instead of money. Airline compensation and refunds have to be paid in cash or by bank transfer. Always.

4. Connecting Flights

4.1 What Is a Connecting Flight?

A connecting flight is two or more subsequent flights.

To put it simply, having a connecting flight means you have to change planes at some point. You are not flying directly from A to B, but there is also be C. You fly from A to C, and then from C to B. Sometimes there are more than a single stop. A wait at the airport between the flights is called a layover.

There are two types of connecting flights:

1. airline-protected transfers,
2. self transfer flights.

4.2 Airline-Protected Transfer

How to find out if you have an airline-protected transfer?

• You have booked a connecting flight from the airline or via some third party service such as Kiwi, Expedia or eDreams.
• You have one booking reference number for the entire trip (two or more flights on your itinerary).

4.3 Self Transfer

You have two or more flights one after the other.

If you have booked these flight separately, it’s called a self transfer.

If you have two or more reservation numbers, it’s a self transfer.

If you paid for these flights separately, it’s definitely a self transfer.

Sometimes it might be hard to distinguish the two, self transfer and airline transfer. For example, kiwi.com allows you buy several flights as a single booking. But if you look at the boarding passes, you’ll see that each one of them has their own reservation number or so called booking reference. That means it’s a self transfer.

Mostly flight search sites tell it somewhere, if it’s a self transfer.

5. Missed Connection

Missed connection means missing a connecting flight.

It happens when you are running late for flight and miss it due to delay or last minute cancellation of the previous flight. Whenever your flight is late or cancelled, you can easily miss your next flight. Especially if the layover or flight connection time is only 1 or 1.5 hours long. In this case, it’s very easy to miss a flight.

It’s great to know that very often you are protected by your airline. If arriving late to your destination isn’t a big problem, sometimes it can also be beneficial for you to have a delay, because you may also receive a flight compensation up to 600 euro per person. If KLM messes up, it’s their responsibility to find a solution with your KLM missed connecting flight.

Cancelled or delayed flight causes missed connection?

5.1 Airline-Protected Transfer

This is the easiest and safest option for you.

You’re protected and you may also be entitled to compensation if something goes wrong. If your flight is cancelled, you’re given a new flight, but you still miss your connecting flight. And also every time a flight delay causes missed connection. In all these situations you are protected. You are given a new flight, and sometimes you are also entitled to compensation.

Just get in touch with KLM representatives at the airport.

What about a refund or compensation?

You can’t get a refund for missed flight, but you may get missed flight compensation for your whole journey, if it flight falls under the EU Regulation 261/2004. Since the amount of the compensation isn’t affected by the price of your flight ticket, in most situations it’s even better — you can get 200 or 400 euro even if you paid only 40.

Don’t forget to file a claim for compensation!

Connecting flight example:  Paris, Charles De Gaulle Airport (CDG) – Cancun, Cancun International airport (CUN), with a stop in London, Heathrow Airport (LHR). Booked from KLM, under one booking reference number.

5.2 Self Transfer

These are several flights that are booked separately.

What happens if you miss connecting flight due to delay?

If any of these flights is 3+ hours late, cancelled or you are denied boarding, then you might be entitled to flight compensation for that particular flight. But neither of the airlines will be responsible for your journey as a whole or for any missed flights. 

For instance, you have a flight with Wizz Air to Paris. Let’s call it “flight 1”. Then there is a 3-hour layover at an airport and the next flight with KLM to Amsterdam. Let’s call it “flight 2”. If you miss flight 2 due to flight 1 being delayed or cancelled, neither of the airlines are responsible for it. 

If it’s a long delay, you may get a compensation from Wizz Air.

If it’s a last-minute cancellation, you may get a new flight or refund and compensation from Wizz Air for flight 1 — that’s the rules in the European Union.

However, if you miss your KLM flight as a result, it is your responsibly to buy a new flight to your destination. Neither Wizz Air nor KLM will compensate you anything for flight 2. You won’t get compensation for missed flight connection.

If you have missed flight insurance, contact your insurance company.

Frequently Asked Questions

EU – Non-EU Flights, Tourists

KLM Delayed Flight > Missed Connection

Flight Cancellations

Other Situations

Do you have any questions about KLM compensation policies? Ask in the comments.

Featured photo by Alexandr Podvalny from Pexels