Missed Connection in Brazil: Your Rights & Flight Compensation

Did you miss your connecting flight?

Don’t worry. With airline protected connecting flights, everything is very easy. If you miss your connection through no fault of your own, you are entitled to a new flight to your destination and care from the airline if the wait at the airport is longer than 1 hour.

If it’s a self transfer, it’s only then you need to start to worry… Because it’s not as easy when you have a self-transfer flight.

Read on to learn more about your rights in case of missed connection.

Missed Connection in Brazil

Did you miss your connection when traveling to, from or in Brazil?

If you have an airline-protected connecting flight, you don’t have to worry about a missed connection. As long as it’s not your fault you’ve missed it, the airline will offer you assistance and a new flight to your destination. 

1. Assistance at the Airport in Case of Missed Connection (also Delay and Cancellation)

Stuck at the airport because of delay, cancellation, denied boarding or missed connection? The good news is — you can get assistance from the airline.

Here’s what the airline must offer you:

• 1-hour flight delay – assistance for communication. If you have to wait 1 hour extra, the airline must give you access to internet or phone calls. So, you can get in touch with your relatives or friends, or anyone else whom you might want to inform about this flight cancellation / travel changes.
• 2-hour flight delay – free food. After 2 hours, you have a right to some kind of food and refreshments from airline. This as well must be arranged for free. Mostly you’ll be receiving a voucher for a meal or some snack, and drink.
• 4-hour flight delay – free accommodation + free transfer. But only if it’s happening during the night. And only if it is abroad / away from your home. If it’s your place of residence, you’ll be offered only free transfer.
• 4-hour flight delay – a new flight. If the delay is going to be 4 hours or more, you have a right to an alternative flight to your destination. The same applies both to domestic and international flights to or from Brazil.

In case of missed connection, you are entitled to these services at both airports.

For example, your first flight is delayed by 2 hours. At the airport, you are entitled to a free meal and refreshments. Unfortunately, you miss your connecting flight because of this 2-hour delay. You arrive at the layover airport right after the flight has departed. The next flight is only on the next day. You are entitled to a free hotel stay and transfer + free food because of this.

2. A New Flight to Your Destination

What about the flight you have missed?

Don’t worry about that! In addition to the above mentioned assistance, the airline has to put you on a new flight to your destination. If this flight departs on the next day, you are entitled to a free hotel stay, free transfer to the hotel and a free transfer back to the airport.

3. Missed Connection Compensation

In some cases, you might be entitled to compensation.

If the airline fails to provide assistance, such as assistance for communication, food and accommodation + transfer (read more about it above), you could be entitled to compensation of up to €1500.

There are no specific compensation amounts according to the distance and length of the flight (as there are in the EU, EEA and UK). The compensation will depend on each passenger’s circumstances and several factors such as the distance of the flight, the reason why the flight was delayed and the type of services (that weren’t offered).

You can get compensation if your flight was:

• Within the last 5 years – for domestic flights;
• 2 years – for international flights.

If you’ve gotten all the assistance you were eligible to, you won’t get compensation.

Missed Connection: European Regulation (EC) No 261/2004

On some flights you are protected by the EU/UK laws.

If you are flying from Brazil on EU, EEA or UK airline, or simply flying from EU, EEA or UK, you are protected by European laws — EU Regulation (EC) No 261/2004 or Regulation UK 261. European compensation laws are different than those in Brazil. In Europe, you are protected more as a passenger. And there are more situations when you are entitled to compensation from the airline.

When it comes to right to care, it’s similar to the Brazilian laws. You will get a free meal and refreshments. If the wait at the airport is long, you will be offered a free hotel stay and free transfer. 

If you have to wait at the airport at least 3 hours, you are entitled to free meals and refreshments, as well as assistance for communication. If the new flight departs on the next day, you are entitled to free hotel stay and transfer. And, of course, you will be booked a the next available flight for free.

If the delay or cancellation that caused you to miss your connecting flight was due to the fault of the airline, you could be entitled to compensation too. Yes, even if you were given a new flight ticket, as well as free meals and hotel. If you arrive at your destination airport 3 or more hours later than scheduled (and the delay was caused by avoidable circumstances), you might be entitled to compensation from the airline.

How much can you get?

In the EU/UK, you are entitled to compensation of up to €600 for your disrupted flight. The amount depends on the distance of the flight.

Here are the compensation amounts:

• €250 – for flights less than 1500 kilometres.
• €400 – for flights between 1500 – 3500 kilometres.
• €600 – for flights beyond 3500 kilometres.

Missed Connection: Self Transfer

Your flights must be within the same reservation (booking reference). 

If you have a self-transfer (separately booked flights with different booking references) you won’t be entitled to any of this.

However, you will be eligible to receive care from the airline because there was a delay or cancellation. If your flight was cancelled last-minute, you will be relocated to the next available flight. But if you miss your self-transfer because of that, you will need to book the new ticket yourself. The airline is only responsible for their flight.

What if it’s a self-transfer with the same airline? It does’t matter. It still a self-transfer flight — two or more consecutive flights booked separately. Each flight has its own booking reference. 

So, let’s see how it works. Your first flight is delayed or cancelled. You will get assistance from the airline. If not, you are eligible to compensation. If the flight was cancelled or heavily delayed, you will be booked on a new flight. But you will need to deal with the missed flight yourself. You won’t be given a new ticket for that. It is because the airline is not responsible for self-transfer flights (also known as DIY connecting flights). You planned and made the connection yourself. You deal with a missed connection yourself. 

Have you ever missed a connecting flight? How long did you wait for the next available flight? Were you entitled to compensation?