If you miss a domestic flight, you will not get charged an additional fee unless you make a habit of missing flights with the airline you are flying with.
You will get charged in the sense that you will lose the value of your ticket, and the rest of your itinerary will get canceled if you are a “no show”.
The same rules apply if you miss an international flight.
You will not get charged unless you often miss flights with the same airline, which is known as skiplagging.
Do You Get Charged If You Miss a Connecting Flight?
It is more common for passengers to miss a connecting flight than any other flight due to not leaving enough time to make their connection.
Thankfully, again, if you miss a connecting flight, you will not get charged.
In fact, if you are traveling on a single ticket, you will be rebooked on another flight for free.
If not, such as in cases where you booked the itinerary yourself, or it was booked by a travel agent, it is your responsibility to make your flight in time, so you will not necessarily be rebooked on another flight for free.
Now you know that you won’t get charged if you miss your flight unless you make a habit out of it with the same airline, you might be wondering if you’re entitled to a refund.
If you missed a flight, and it was your fault, you will not receive a refund.
However, if you miss a flight due to unexpected external circumstances that are outside of your control and/or within the airline’s control, you might be eligible for a refund.
What to Do If You Think You Are Going to Miss Your Flight
If you think that you are going to miss your flight, your first step should be to contact the airline as soon as possible and let them know.
In the U.S., most airlines have a policy known as the “flat tire” rule.
This rule allows passengers to rebook their flight if they miss their flight or are running late for free or for a small fee.
Airline Polices for Missing Flights
U.S. airlines tend to have quite generous policies if you are going to miss your flight.
American Airlines
If you arrive at the airport within two hours of scheduled departure yet still manage to miss your flight, you can be rebooked on the next flight as a standby traveler without having to pay any additional fees.
JetBlue
If you miss your JetBlue flight, you will have to forfeit the non-refundable portion of your ticket, but may be put on standby for the next available flight at no additional cost.
Southwest
When flying with Southwest, you can change or cancel flights without penalty before departure, though will have to pay the difference in fare.
United
If you contact United within 30 minutes of your scheduled departure, you can usually be rebooked on a new flight.
Ella Dunham, a Freelance Travel Journalist and Marketing Manager, boasts an impressive career spanning eight years in the travel and tourism sectors.
Honored as one of "30 Under 30" by TTG Media (the world’s very first weekly travel trade newspaper), a "Tour Operator Travel Guru" and "Legend Award" winner, Ella is also a Fellow of the Institute of Travel, a Member of the Association of Women Travel Executives, has completed over 250 travel modules, and hosts travel-focused segments on national radio shows where she provides insights on travel regulations and destinations.
Ella has visited over 40 countries (with 10 more planned this year).
