With a missed connecting flight, the right to compensation in Poland turns on two things, and only two: whether the legs sat on one and the same booking, and how many hours late you finally reached your final destination. If both conditions are met — same booking and at least three hours of delay at the final destination — you are entitled to compensation of EUR 250 to EUR 600 (roughly PLN 1,100 to PLN 2,700). If the flights were on separate tickets, each leg is assessed on its own, and the picture changes completely. This guide works through that two-test rule, explains how Polish institutions like the Rzecznik Praw Pasażerów (RPP) at the Civil Aviation Authority (ULC) handle these cases, and shows you when the Sąd Rejonowy becomes your route.
The two-test rule: the two questions that decide everything
The simplest way to know where you stand is to ask two questions in order.
Question 1: Were the flights on the same booking? If you purchased the whole journey in one and the same booking — one booking reference, one ticket covering all the legs — the journey must, under the case law of the Court of Justice of the European Union, be treated as a single connected whole. It then makes no difference that the individual leg which ran late was itself short. The CJEU established this principle clearly in Wegener (C-537/17, 2018): a booking with a connection is one journey, not several.
Question 2: How late did you reach the final destination? It is the arrival at your final destination that gets measured — not the departure delay, not how late any intermediate leg was. If you arrived three hours or more late at the final destination shown on the booking, the delay test is met. This was settled by the CJEU in Folkerts (C-11/11, 2013): passengers on a connecting flight are entitled to compensation when the delay at the final destination reaches three hours or more, even if the first leg was within the threshold.
If the answer to both questions is yes, you normally have a compensation claim. If either one fails, you need to read on — that is where the misunderstandings sit.
The most common edge case: "one flight was delayed but I still arrived"
A recurring question on forums and Polish consumer pages runs roughly: "Am I entitled to compensation if one of my flights was delayed but I still arrived on time?" The short answer is no — and that is not an injustice, it is the whole logic of the rule.
EU 261 does not compensate the delay in itself. It compensates you for arriving late. If your first flight from Warsaw was an hour late but the margin to the Frankfurt connection was still enough, or you were re-routed onto a next flight that got you to the final destination within three hours of the original arrival time, then you have not suffered the delay the regulation compensates. A late leg that still ends in an on-time arrival gives no claim. See our companion guide on flight delay compensation in Poland for the broader picture.
Flip it around and the same logic applies: if you miss the connection and arrive five hours late, it makes no difference that the first flight was only "a little" late. The five hours at the final destination count, not the twenty minutes at the layover airport.
Single booking or separate tickets: the line you need to know
This is the difference most travellers do not know about, and it can decide whether you have a claim at all.
| Single booking | Separate tickets | |
|---|---|---|
| What it is | All legs in one booking, one reference | Each flight bought on its own, often with different airlines |
| How the journey is assessed | As a single connected whole | Each flight assessed in isolation |
| On a missed connection | A claim against the airline whose flight caused the miss | Normally no claim if each flight kept its own schedule |
| Where the delay is measured | At the final destination | Per individual flight |
If you buy a journey Warsaw–Frankfurt–Singapore as one booking, the airline bears responsibility for the chain holding together. If Warsaw–Frankfurt runs so late that you miss Frankfurt–Singapore, that is a single connected journey which became heavily delayed at the final destination, and you have a claim under EU 261/2004.
If you instead buy Warsaw–Frankfurt with LOT and Frankfurt–Singapore with Singapore Airlines as two free-standing tickets, no such legal link exists. If the first flight was twenty minutes late and you missed the second, the second airline has done nothing wrong — its flight departed on schedule — and the first airline caused only twenty minutes of delay, not three hours. You are then in practice left without an EU 261 claim, even though the travel day was ruined. That is the hard line, and it is worth thinking about already at the booking stage: a single booking is not just more convenient, it gives a legal protection that two separate tickets do not.
How much: the compensation ladder
The amount follows the same scale as for cancellations and long delays under Article 7 of Regulation (EC) No 261/2004:
- EUR 250 (around PLN 1,100) — for journeys up to 1,500 km
- EUR 400 (around PLN 1,750) — for intra-EU journeys over 1,500 km and other journeys between 1,500 and 3,500 km
- EUR 600 (around PLN 2,700) — for journeys over 3,500 km outside the EU
For a connecting journey the distance is calculated on the whole journey — from the first departure point to the final destination — not per individual leg. A long intercontinental journey routed Warsaw–Frankfurt–Bangkok therefore normally lands at EUR 600 even if each individual segment is shorter on its own.
The claim is directed at the operating air carrier — the airline whose aircraft and crew actually performed the flight that caused you to miss the connection. With a codeshare booking sold under one carrier's number but flown by another, the obligation sits with the airline whose plane you boarded (or were supposed to board).
When the airline says "extraordinary circumstances"
Airlines often refuse claims by citing "extraordinary circumstances" under Article 5(3) of EU 261/2004. The CJEU has narrowed this defence sharply over the years. In Wallentin-Hermann (C-549/07, 2008) the Court held that technical defects that come to light during routine maintenance or are inherent in the normal operation of an aircraft are not extraordinary circumstances. The carrier cannot use ordinary mechanical issues to escape liability for your missed connection.
The Court reinforced this position in Krüsemann (C-195/17, 2018), ruling that a wildcat strike by the airline's own crew is also not extraordinary, because labour disputes are part of normal commercial risk. And in van der Lans (C-257/14, 2015) the CJEU confirmed that a technical malfunction discovered during regular maintenance does not free the carrier from compensation duty.
If a Polish carrier refuses your missed-connection claim citing crew sickness, an internal technical issue, or operational rotation problems at the hub airport, the case law above is your direct response.
Check your missed connection claim in 2 minutes — get up to EUR 600
How to pursue a missed-connection claim in Poland
The procedure in Poland follows a predictable three-stage path.
Stage 1: Written claim to the airline. Send a formal written complaint (reklamacja) to the operating carrier's customer relations address. Include your booking reference, both PNRs if relevant, boarding passes, your final destination and the actual arrival time, plus a clear demand for the EUR amount under Article 7 of Regulation 261/2004. The airline has 30 days to reply under standard Polish consumer practice.
Stage 2: Rzecznik Praw Pasażerów (RPP). If the airline refuses or stays silent, the Rzecznik Praw Pasażerów — the Passenger Rights Ombudsman operating under the Urząd Lotnictwa Cywilnego (ULC), the Polish Civil Aviation Authority — handles alternative dispute resolution for EU 261 cases involving flights departing from a Polish airport or operated by a Polish carrier. The RPP procedure is free for consumers and produces a non-binding settlement proposal that most airlines respect.
Stage 3: Sąd Rejonowy. If the RPP route fails, the next step is civil court. EU 261 claims of this size are heard by the Sąd Rejonowy (District Court). Jurisdiction was confirmed by the CJEU in Rehder (C-204/08, 2009): a passenger may sue at either the airport of departure or the airport of arrival. For a missed-connection journey routed Warsaw–Frankfurt–Bangkok, that means you can file with the Sąd Rejonowy with jurisdiction over Warsaw Chopin airport even if the missed connection happened in Frankfurt.
Prescription period. This is where Polish law diverges sharply from many other EU member states. Under Polish civil law (Kodeks cywilny, article 118), the general prescription period for monetary claims is 10 years for claims that arose before 9 July 2018 and 6 years for claims arising after that date (with the year-end rounding rule). The CJEU confirmed in Cuadrench Moré (C-139/11, 2013) that national prescription rules apply to EU 261 claims, which means Polish passengers have a far longer window to act than passengers in, say, Sweden (where the equivalent is much shorter). You can act on a 2022 missed connection in 2026 without difficulty.
What about layovers outside the EU?
EU 261/2004 applies to flights departing from any airport within the EU regardless of the carrier, and to flights arriving into the EU when operated by an EU-licensed airline. If your whole single-booking journey starts at a Polish airport, the regulation covers the entire trip even when the layover itself happens outside the EU.
A Warsaw–Doha–Sydney booking on Qatar Airways, missed in Doha, is covered: the journey began at a Polish (and therefore EU) airport. A Doha–Warsaw–New York booking missed in Warsaw is also covered when operated by a non-EU carrier on the inbound leg, because Poland is the second airport but the second leg departed from an EU airport. What matters is where the journey begins and which airline operates it — not where the connection happens.
What this page does not do
This guide is based on the consolidated text of Regulation (EC) No 261/2004 and the CJEU case law cited above. It is informational and does not constitute legal advice for your individual case. For binding advice on your specific situation, contact the Rzecznik Praw Pasażerów at the Urząd Lotnictwa Cywilnego (ULC), or consult a Polish advocate (adwokat) or legal counsel (radca prawny) specialising in air passenger rights. For the original Polish-language version of this guide, see Odszkodowanie za przesiadkę .
For related guidance see our overview of cancelled flight compensation and the broader walkthrough of flight delay compensation .
Frequently asked questions
Am I entitled to compensation if one of my flights was delayed but I still arrived on time?
What matters is not that one leg was delayed, but how late you ultimately reached your final destination. If you arrived less than three hours late — because the margin between the flights was generous, or because you were re-routed onto an early next flight — there is normally no right to compensation, even if one of the flights was itself late. It is the arrival delay at the final destination that counts, as the CJEU confirmed in Folkerts (C-11/11).
Does it matter whether I booked the flights separately or in one booking?
Yes — it is often the whole difference. If the legs were on one and the same booking, the journey is assessed as a single connected whole and the delay is measured at the final destination. If you booked the flights separately with different airlines, each flight is assessed in isolation. If you miss the connection because the first flight was only slightly late, you normally have no claim against the second airline, which kept its schedule.
Which airline do I direct the claim against after a missed connection in Poland?
With a single booking, the claim is directed at the operating air carrier — the airline that actually performed the flight. If the booking involves several airlines (for example a codeshare or interline ticket), the claim is in practice directed at the airline whose flight caused the miss. With separate tickets, any claim can only target the airline whose individual flight was actually delayed or cancelled.
How long do I have to file a missed-connection claim in Poland?
Polish civil law gives you a generous window. The general prescription period for monetary claims under article 118 of the Kodeks cywilny is currently 6 years (10 years for claims arising before 9 July 2018), with the end-of-year rounding rule. The CJEU ruled in Cuadrench Moré (C-139/11) that national prescription periods apply to EU 261 claims, so Polish passengers have one of the longest windows in the EU to bring a claim — much longer than in many neighbouring countries.
What if the airline refuses and the Rzecznik Praw Pasażerów cannot help?
If the airline rejects the claim and the RPP procedure does not produce a binding outcome, the next step is the Sąd Rejonowy (District Court) with jurisdiction over either the airport of departure or the airport of final destination, following the CJEU ruling in Rehder (C-204/08). For most Polish passengers this means filing in Warsaw, Kraków, or Gdańsk depending on where the journey began. A specialised claims agent can also handle this for you on a no-win-no-fee basis.
Do the rules apply if the connection happened outside the EU?
EU 261/2004 applies to flights departing from an EU airport regardless of airline, and to flights into the EU operated by an EU-licensed airline. If your single-booking journey began at a Polish airport, it is covered even when the layover happens outside the EU. What matters is where the journey begins and which airline operates it — not where the connection takes place.
Sources and further reading
- Regulation (EC) No 261/2004 — consolidated text on EUR-Lex
- Court of Justice of the EU — Wegener (C-537/17, 2018): a connecting journey on a single booking is assessed as one transport unit
- Court of Justice of the EU — Folkerts (C-11/11, 2013): the arrival delay at the final destination is what counts
- Court of Justice of the EU — Wallentin-Hermann (C-549/07, 2008): technical defects are not extraordinary circumstances
- Court of Justice of the EU — Rehder (C-204/08, 2009): jurisdiction at airport of departure or arrival
- Urząd Lotnictwa Cywilnego (ULC) — Rzecznik Praw Pasażerów: the Polish supervisory authority and ADR body for air passenger rights
- Kodeks cywilny art. 118 — Polish civil law prescription periods
Last reviewed: 2 June 2026.