If both flights are on one ticket and your first flight was late, missing the connection is the airline's problem to fix, and it usually starts fixing it before you land. What happens next, and what you can do to speed it up, depends on a few things.
On one ticket: the airline rebooks you
When your connecting flights are on a single ticket, the airline is responsible for getting you to your final destination. If a late first flight makes you miss the second, it will rebook you on its next available flight at no extra charge. Your checked bags are rebooked with you.
Often this happens automatically. By the time you land, the airline's app or a text message may already show your new flight and boarding pass. Check before you head to a service desk.
Not sure whether you have one ticket? See one ticket or separate tickets. If you booked separately, see missed connection on separate tickets instead.
What to do when you land
- Check the app first. If you have been rebooked, make sure the new flight works for you.
- If it does not, ask for something better. Look for a specific later flight on your airline, a partner, or into a nearby airport at your destination, and ask for it by flight number. Use the transfer desk, the phone line and the app at the same time.
- Stay airside. Unless you are told to collect your bags, do not leave the secure area. You would have to go through security again.
- Check the rest of your booking. Make sure your return flight and any later legs are still on it.
Here is what to say to the agent.
Better still: act before you land
If you can see during the first flight, or before it leaves, that the connection is in trouble, ask to be moved to a later connection straight away. Seats on the next flights go to whoever asks first. See tight layover: how to tell if you will make it.
If you are stuck overnight
If the next available flight is tomorrow and the delay that caused the missed connection was within the airline's control, most large US airlines commit to a hotel, transport and meals. For weather, they usually do not. See missed connection because of a delay: who pays?
If you would rather not continue
If the rebooking gets you there too late to be worth it, ask whether you can cancel the rest of the trip and be refunded for the flights you will not use. If you are still at your origin because the first flight is delayed three hours or more (six on an international flight), you can choose not to travel and get a refund. See refund or rebooking.
Arriving from abroad
On an international arrival, you clear passport control and customs at your first US airport, collect and re-check any checked bags, and go through security again before your domestic flight. If you booked one ticket with a connection the airline sold you, and the queues or a late arrival make you miss it, the airline rebooks you in the same way. Check the app as soon as you land, because the transfer can take a while.
If you missed it for another reason
If your first flight was on time and you missed the connection for reasons of your own, the airline is not obliged to rebook you for free. Many will put you on the next flight if you go straight to the desk and explain. Do not simply skip the flight: on most airlines, a no-show cancels the rest of the booking.
This guide is general information for US travelers, not legal advice. Rules and airline commitments change; check with your airline or the US Department of Transportation for your specific situation.