The airline cancels your flight. Eventually, it gets you where you were going. But the replacement flight does not undo everything that happened in between. You may have lost: a prepaid hotel night; a train ticket; a rental car reservation; a tour; a concert or sporting-event ticket; a wedding; or, in the worst case, an…
Your first flight lands late. By the time you reach the terminal, your connecting flight is gone. What happens next depends heavily on one detail travelers often overlook when booking: Were both flights issued on the same ticket? If they were, the airline will normally treat the missed connection as part of the disrupted journey…
Updated August 2026 You are flying to a wedding that starts at 4 p.m. Your connecting flight is canceled, and the airline’s best alternative gets you there at 9 p.m. Technically, the airline can still transport you to your destination. Practically, there is no longer much reason to go. Airlines have a term for this…