Can you skip the second half of a flight?

It makes the airline mad, but yes you can miss connecting leg. Make sure you have booked it one way and do not have checked-in bag. If you have a round-trip ticket, you will be marked no-show for the rest of your itinerary. If you have a checked bag, it will reach the final destination.



Skipping the second half of a flight—a practice known as "Hidden City Ticketing"—is technically possible but comes with significant risks in 2026. For example, if you book a flight from New York to London with a layover in Paris, but your actual destination is Paris, you simply walk out of the airport during the layover. However, airlines strictly prohibit this in their "Contract of Carriage." If you skip a segment, the airline will automatically cancel the rest of your itinerary, including your return flight. Furthermore, you cannot check luggage, as it will be sent to the final ticketed destination (London). In 2026, airlines use sophisticated AI to track "skip patterns"; if you do this frequently, they may revoke your frequent flyer miles, strip you of elite status, or even ban you from the airline. While it can save money in the short term, the "gold standard" for travel security is to always fly your full ticketed route. The only exception is if you have a "flexible" ticket and officially change your destination with an agent, though this will usually incur a fare difference.

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While not illegal, intentionally skipping segments on an itinerary does almost always violates airlines' contracts of carriage.

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If your itinerary was purchased as one ticket (as in: you have only one itinerary and one confirmation number), and the connection time was too short and you miss the second (or third) flight, you can rest easy, no matter what happens. The airline will simply put you onto the next available flight, free of charge.

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“Hidden city ticketing,” or booking a flight with the intention of getting off at the layover city rather than the final destination, is perfectly legal, but there are some factors to consider before making it a habit. According to Business Insider, hidden city ticketing is a sneaky way to save money.

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Skiplagged is the most well-known service for finding hidden-city or throwaway tickets. That's the practice of booking a less-expensive flight option without planning to fly the entire itinerary. Instead, you bail at a connecting airport rather than continuing to your final destination.

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While skiplagging isn't illegal, American Airlines filed a civil lawsuit earlier this month against Skiplagged.com, accusing the company of unauthorized and deceptive ticketing practices and tricking customers into believing they've gained access to a secret loophole.

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No, you cannot skip the first leg of any itinerary. As stated above, after you've skipped a flight, all remaining flight legs on your itinerary will be canceled by the airline. It may seem silly, but this is a common mistake many infrequent travelers make.

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Throwaway ticketing is purchasing a ticket with the intent to use only a portion of the included travel. This situation may arise when a passenger wants to travel only one way, but where the discounted round-trip excursion fare is cheaper than a one-way ticket.

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If you do it once/occasionally, no problem. If you do it consistently, you run the risk of getting your account flagged/suspended. No other major issue.

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Limit interaction with the airline's employees
He said passengers planning to use hidden city tickets should avoid in-person check-in and use online or mobile check-in instead. To avoid arousing suspicion when skiplagging, fly under the radar and avoid speaking to airline staff unless necessary.

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The “empty leg”, also referred to as “repositioning flight” refers to a situation when the airplane is sent on a mission without any passengers.

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That's the practice of booking a less-expensive flight option without planning to fly the entire itinerary. Instead, you bail at a connecting airport rather than continuing to your final destination. Although some travelers have been booking these types of tickets for decades, Skiplagged took the idea mainstream.

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But many travel advisers say those guidelines result in itineraries that don't always work for passengers. “On average, 35 minutes is what they consider a legal connection,” said Loulu Lima founder of the Texas-based travel agency Book Here Give Here.

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Generally speaking, most airlines will make some kind of efforts to wait for delayed passengers on a connecting flight, though this is not necessarily guaranteed. In some cases, airlines may be able to hold a connecting flight for a period of time, but it is not something that is typically guaranteed by any airline.

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“Hidden city ticketing,” or booking a flight with the intention of getting off at the layover city rather than the final destination, is perfectly legal, but there are some factors to consider before making it a habit.

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Airlines typically require that both legs of the journey be cancelled together in order to receive a refund or credit for future travel. However, if your plans have changed and you no longer need to take the return portion of your flight, some airlines may allow you to change it for a fee.

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