What happens if I purposely miss my connecting flight?

If you purposely choose to miss a connecting flight, or if you are otherwise responsible for missing it, the airline is under no obligation to pay you compensation or to rebook you. You can ask them to help you book a new flight, but this will have to come out of your own pocket.



Purposely missing a connecting flight—a practice often linked to "hidden city ticketing"—carries significant risks in 2026. If you fail to board your second leg, the airline's automated system will immediately mark you as a "No-Show." This triggers a chain reaction: your entire remaining itinerary, including any return flights on the same booking, will be automatically cancelled without a refund. Furthermore, if you are a member of the airline's frequent flyer program, you risk having your account audited, your earned miles confiscated, or being banned from the airline entirely for violating the "Contract of Carriage." Additionally, because your checked luggage is usually tagged to the final destination, it will continue to that city without you, making it extremely difficult (and often expensive) to retrieve. Airlines have become much more aggressive in tracking and penalizing this behavior to protect their hub-and-spoke pricing models.

People Also Ask

As soon as you skip a segment on a flight itinerary, the remainder of your ticket will be invalid. At least that's how it's supposed to work across the board. If your entire itinerary is on one airline then that's almost certainly how it's going to play out.

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Is skiplagging illegal? No, but it's against most airlines' contracts of carriage or the rules people must follow to fly with the airline. American Airlines and Southwest Airlines both put skiplagging first on their lists of prohibited booking practices.

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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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The practice goes by a few different names, including skiplagging or hidden-city flying. Passengers disembark at their layover city, leaving an empty seat on their next flight, and save money in the process. But airlines are cracking down on the practice, claiming it breaches their rules and costs them revenue.

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If you are flying within the USA and have no checked baggage to a final destination, then skipping the final leg of a journey is usually fine. There's no penalty for cancelling (as the missed leg is the end of your trip), and you can just leave the flight with hand luggage without any worries.

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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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In most cases, all the connecting and/or return flights that are related to the same booking get canceled, and no-show passengers are ineligible for a refund. Some airlines also charge a no-show fee.

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Yes, you can leave the airport during domestic layovers. For instance, if you're a US citizen and have a layover within the country, it is legal and safe to leave the airport. Be aware that you'll probably be getting two boarding passes if the domestic layover is more than an hour.

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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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Can I go outside the airport on a connecting flight? You can if you have time but you'll have to go through all the security checks when you re-enter. It's usually not worth the time and effort and you might even miss your flight if you miscalculate the time it takes to get back through security.

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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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The recommended layover time for international flights is generally longer, as you will have to go through customs and immigration before boarding your next flight. In most cases, a 30-minute layover for domestic flights and an hour for international flights is considered a minimum, or short, layover.

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But skiplagging is controversial, and many airlines frown upon it — so much that it can be punishable by miles or status cancellations and even a lifetime ban from the airline.

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This travel hack is called skiplagging. Some passengers use it to save money when the longer route is cheaper than the desired destination.

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It's highly unlikely you'd face any repercussions if you do it once, but if you make it a habit or the airline sees an egregious pattern of hidden city ticketing, there could penalties from the airline, like losing your frequent flyer points.

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Hidden city ticketing is when you buy a ticket with the intention of leaving the plane at a stopover, rather than the final destination. These types of journeys have the potential to save you a lot of money in comparison to a non-stop flight.

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Technically, no, skiplagging isn't illegal. You're not breaking any laws by doing it. You won't get arrested or face legal action from authorities for using this strategy. But, most airlines ban the practice in their terms and conditions, which everyone agrees to when they purchase a ticket.

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