A friend, Emma, sent me this text, “do you know what happens if you skip a connecting flight?”
Emma was at the San Diego Airport waiting for her connecting flight into Los Angeles and then onto Sydney, Australia. The flight was delayed and she wanted to drive up to LAX instead of waiting for the San Diego flight to enjoy the lounge at the Los Angeles airport before her flight.
But if she had, Emma’s entire ticket would have been cancelled.
Skipping a Leg of Your Airline Ticket
When you miss or skip a connecting flight, the airline cancels the rest of your ticket.
If Emma had driven to LAX her Los Angeles to Sydney ticket would have been cancelled, along with her return ticket from Sydney to San Diego.

Miss a flight and your ticket gets cancelled
The airline cancels your entire itinerary when you don’t fly your entire ticket because they consider you a no-show.
So whether you accidentally skip a portion of your flight because you were late to the airport and missed your flight.
Or whether you intentionally missed a connection due to throwaway or hidden city ticketing (where you don’t fly a portion of your ticket because it’s cheaper to book a connecting ticket), the rest of your flight will be canceled.
Conclusion
If you skip a connecting flight, the rest of your ticket will be canceled. So do whatever you have to do to make it to your flight. Even if it means hanging out waiting for a delayed plane.
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Bites for Foodies
Wednesday 16th of November 2016
I had no idea!! I've actually done it in the past where I decided to drive to the nearest city as opposed to flying, but the remainder of my trip wasn't cancelled! Lucky for me! ;-)
Valerie
Wednesday 16th of November 2016
Well that stinks. It isn't easy to fly anymore. Is it?
Nicci
Wednesday 16th of November 2016
Wow! Good to know. We rarely fly, but when we do we take our leisure time walking around the airport. Now I know to make sure we are in the boarding area well before our plane loads. We don't want to miss those connections. Thanks for the info!
laura londergan
Wednesday 16th of November 2016
Well I had no idea that they would do that. I mean sometimes you have no choice and you miss it but I suppose they would know that already if it was because of a flight delay. However I wonder if you were to let them know you were just 'skipping it' if they would still cancel - interesting nonetheless.
Censie Sawyer
Wednesday 16th of November 2016
Well this is news to me and I am glad I know this now. That would be so frustrating! I imagine skipping a flight would mean a ton of money out of pocket too. Thank you for this information.