Skip to main content

missed connection

A missed connection is a situation in air travel in which a passenger does not catch a planned connecting flight because an earlier flight arrives too late or there is too little time between the flights.

In plain English

This means a traveller’s next flight leaves before they can get to it. It applies to a planned air trip with a connection, when the earlier flight arrives late or the time between the two flights is too short.

In context

Here, “missed connection” reports that the onward flight in the planned air journey was not caught because the previous flight arrived too late or the connection time was too short.

Situation
Checking in, passing airport steps, boarding, connections, and flight status
What it communicates
reports failed onward-connection status

Meaning limits

This term covers only the failure to catch a planned connecting flight, not every kind of disruption during air travel.

Examples

“When her first flight landed ninety minutes late, she had a missed connection in Chicago.”

Core meaning

“On the return trip, only twenty minutes separated the two flights, and there was a missed connection in Dubai.”

In context