Missed your connecting flight? When you're owed compensation in Canada

Updated October 1, 2026 · Checked against the regulations as current to September 30, 2026 · By LandedLate

You're owed compensation for a missed connection when a delay or cancellation within the airline's control, and not required for safety, makes you reach the final destination on your ticket 3 or more hours late. If you were told 14 days or less before departure, a large airline then owes $400, $700 or $1,000 per passenger, depending on how late you arrive; a small airline $125, $250 or $500 (sections 12 and 19). Canada's Air Passenger Protection Regulations cover connecting flights, and the airline that operated the disrupted flight is responsible. (Rules as they stood on October 1, 2026.)

Whether your own flight qualifies depends on its details: the reason the airline gave, how late you reached your destination and how much notice you had. Check it free at landedlate.ca/check.

The rules that decide a missed-connection claim

Lateness is measured at your final destination. The arrival time on your original ticket against when you actually got there, including the replacement flight (section 19(1)).
The cause has to be within the airline's control and not required for safety. A late first flight caused by crew, scheduling or an avoidable maintenance problem counts. A fault found in a pre-flight check is usually treated as required for safety: you get care (meals after 2 hours, a hotel if you're stuck overnight, when told less than 12 hours ahead) and a new flight, but no compensation (sections 11, 12 and 14). Weather or air traffic control on your own flight doesn't count. If it hit an earlier flight and the delay spread to yours, it still doesn't count as long as the airline took all reasonable steps to limit the knock-on effect (section 10(2)).
Claim from the airline that operated the disrupted flight (section 2(1)). It may not be the one you booked with. For Air Canada Express flights operated by Jazz, the agency has ordered Air Canada itself to pay (Crawford v. Air Canada, 107-C-A-2022), so send the claim to Air Canada.
If there were two causes, the primary one decides. The agency's guide asks airlines to identify the reason that contributed most to your late arrival, and the agency has said an airline citing several causes must point to it (decision 122-C-A-2021).

Common situations

Likely owed

One booking; the first flight was late for a reason within the airline's control (not a safety-required fault); you reached your final destination 3+ hours late; you were told 14 days or less before departure.

Worth challenging

The airline blames weather on the first leg, calls it a safety or maintenance issue, or gives different reasons for each flight. Ask which reason it treats as primary, and why.

Likely not owed

Separate tickets, where the first ticket ended on time or less than 3 hours late; or a genuine cause outside the airline's control.

Getting to your destination

Within the airline's control: a large airline must rebook you on its own or a partner's flight leaving within 9 hours, and otherwise on any airline's flight within 48 hours; if that doesn't suit you, a refund of the unused part (section 17). Taking the refund doesn't cancel compensation: if the cause wasn't a safety one and you were told 14 days or less before departure, you're still owed at least $400 from a large airline or $125 from a small one (section 19(2)).
Outside its control: a flight on the airline or a partner within 48 hours. If it can't do that, your choice of a refund or (on a large airline) any airline's next flight (section 18).
Trip no longer worth it: if you're stuck at the connection point and the trip has lost its purpose, you can get a refund and a free flight back to where you started, when the new flight offered doesn't meet your needs (cause within the airline's control, section 17(2)) or the airline can't rebook you within 48 hours (cause outside its control, sections 18(1.1) and (1.2)). If the cause was within its control and not required for safety, and you were told 14 days or less before departure, you're also owed at least $400 from a large airline or $125 from a small one, even though you took the refund (section 19(2)).
Meals and a hotel: food and drink after a 2-hour wait, and a hotel if you're stuck overnight at the connecting airport, when the cause was within the airline's control, including safety, and you were told less than 12 hours ahead (section 14).

Write my claim

Free. LandedLate takes no share of what the airline pays you. See also 2-hour delays.

Questions

Which airline do I claim from if I missed a connection?

The airline that operated the delayed or cancelled flight that caused it (section 2(1)). The Canadian Transportation Agency's guide says the airline operating the affected flight is responsible for its obligations to you. Check “operated by” on your boarding pass. The agency ordered Air Canada to pay $1,000 per passenger for a Jazz-operated Air Canada Express flight in Crawford v. Air Canada (107-C-A-2022), so for Air Canada Express, send the claim to Air Canada and name the operator. A small airline flying for a large one owes the large-airline amounts (section 1(4)).

The first flight was only 1 hour late. Can I still claim?

Yes, if missing the connection got you to your final destination 3 or more hours late, the cause was within the airline's control and not required for safety, and you were told 14 days or less before departure. What matters is your arrival at the destination on your ticket, not how late the first flight was (section 19(1)).

Two things went wrong on my trip. Which reason counts?

The agency's guide asks airlines to identify the primary reason: the one that contributed most to the disruption or to you arriving late at your final destination. That reason's category decides whether compensation is owed. In decision 122-C-A-2021 the agency said a refusal must give you enough information to decide whether to challenge it, and an airline citing several causes must point to the primary reason or most significant contributing factor.

What if my flights were on separate tickets?

The delay is measured to the destination on the ticket (section 19(1)), so with separate bookings each ticket stands alone: the first airline's lateness is measured to the end of its own ticket, not your final destination.

My trip is pointless now. Can I go home?

Yes, in two situations: the new flight the airline offers doesn't meet your travel needs (cause within its control, section 17(2)), or the airline can't rebook you within 48 hours and you choose a refund (cause outside its control, sections 18(1.1) and 18(1.2)). Then, if you're no longer at your point of origin and the trip no longer serves a purpose because of the disruption, the airline must refund the ticket and fly you back to where you started, free of charge. If the cause was within the airline's control, not required for safety, and you were told 14 days or less before departure, you're also owed at least $400 from a large airline or $125 from a small one (section 19(2)).

Sources

General information, not legal advice.