What happens when you miss a connecting flight? Here’s what a no-show is
Have you ever heard of the no-show phenomenon? It happens when we don’t show up for our flight. It turns out that the consequences can be expensive. And what if we miss the connecting flight itself? It’s worth knowing.
The term no-show is not as well-known as, for example, overbooking, which heralds passengers that they will lose their flight because of the excess people boarding. Although they are not to blame, because the airlines sold too many seats, they can usually only count on compensation or a change of travel date. What happens when we do not show up for our flight, even though we could have?
No-show, or failure to show up for a flight. What are the consequences?
A no-show is when a passenger has completed airport procedures too late or, for various reasons, has not arrived at the airport at all. People who have checked in and gone through security but have not shown up at a specific gate in time for boarding may have problems. Airlines have their own rules, and tourists may suffer the consequences of their behavior. If we do not show up for our flight, we are not entitled to a refund or change of ticket, we simply lose money.
If we know we won’t make it, it’s always better to cancel the flight than to just not show up. Then there’s a chance that we’ll get at least some of the money for the purchased fare. The rules on this may vary depending on the carrier.
Failure to show up for part of a connecting flight
Are you wondering how it looks in the case of connecting flights, when we plan to stop in a country? Well, we can lose a lot again. In the case of a return flight purchased in advance or a multi-leg journey – with a stopover, not being present on the first leg of the flight results in the cancellation of the remaining ones.
For example, if someone bought a plane ticket from Warsaw to Miami with a stopover in Berlin and did not show up for the flight from Warsaw to Berlin, the rest of the journey is automatically lost. If we cancel the last part of our flight, nothing will happen, but we must remember that if we checked in baggage, it will fly until the end of the route.
It is also enough that we booked a flight from Warsaw to Paris and Paris to Warsaw at the same time, and if we do not show up at the departure because we travel at a different time or on a different plane, we will lose the return flight. If we are not sure about our travel decisions, it is often better to buy both tickets separately or to wait with the decision. It may also be a good idea to buy insurance in advance for such cases.
There are exceptions
It may happen that we will not feel the effects of our failure to show up for a flight or part of it. This happens in special situations, e.g. illness or death of someone close. We must immediately inform the carrier of such a fact and provide documents confirming the given situation, e.g. a doctor’s certificate.
It is also worth remembering that some airlines do not enforce no-shows. This is the case with WizzAir or Ryanair, for example. Here, if we do not show up for one section, the tourist’s flight will not be canceled. This is usually the case with low-cost airlines.
