What will happen if you make it to the airport on

Airlines have different policies about what will happen if passengers miss their flight because they don’t make it to the airport in time. Our colleagues at Mirror Money put together this list of what the various airlines do.

Thomas Cook has a duty office to deal with customers who miss their flights which will explain the best alternative travel for them. The airline may arrange for passengers to travel on via another Thomas Cook flight or they also have reciprocal arrangements with other airlines.

A spokesperson said: “We do minimise the cost where we can but the customer does have to pay something. We see what we can do, but it depends on the destination, the frequency of flights, the space available and so on.”

If you miss your outbound flight your return won’t be cancelled with Thomas Cook.

EasyJet offers a chance to allay anxiety when booking your ticket; you can apply for missed flight cover from just £7.50. If you miss your flight for any reason the airline will get you on the next available flight free of charge as long as you show up within four hours.

If that’s not possible it will offer a full flight refund. But what if you didn’t buy the cover?

A spokesperson said: “We understand that sometimes things happen which mean they are delayed in getting to the airport and we want to help passengers to make their travel easier and so if they arrive at the airport late, but within two hours of their original flight’s scheduled departure time, they can transfer to the next available flight for a rescue fee of £80.”

With Ryanair, the missed flight fee is £100 but it’s only available at less than 40 minutes before and up to one hour after flight departure time.

The deal is also available to “customers who arrive at the ticket desk up to an hour after their flight departure to move to the next available flight”.

Although BA didn’t respond to our inquiry, many travellers have reported they did not receive discounted onward travel. And often it seems the return section of the flight is cancelled if you don’t show for the outbound leg.

If you miss a BA flight, ring the bookings line immediately to check if your return journey is affected.

Flybe states: “If you do not show up for any flight without advising us in advance, we will cancel your return or onward reservations. However, if you advise us in advance, we will not cancel your subsequent flight reservations.”

Monarch Airlines states that it cannot accept responsibility for making alternative travel arrangements when a customer misses a flight because they failed to check in on time.

It suggests contacting a travel agent or tour operator, if you booked through one, for advice on getting to your destination. However, if you have missed your flight and are still at the airport, it recommends visiting the Monarch ticket desk, which will let you know the next flight available and its cost.

All Thomson flights are non-refundable if you miss or cancel your flight.

Virgin passengers are likely to pay a penalty if they need to reschedule a missed flight but the exact amount depends on their specific terms and conditions when they booked.

If your ticket was a return, missing the outbound flight automatically cancels the remainder of your ticket, meaning you will need to contact the airline’s reservations team to re-book the return as a one-way flight.

However, if you miss your flight through something beyond your control and which would not have been avoided, you can apply for a credit for future travel, subject to an admin fee.

The type of ticket you have makes a big difference with Eastern Airways. A spokesperson said: “If a passenger misses their flight and has a fully flexible ticket, they can make a change at no additional cost. Passengers on a restricted ticket would have to purchase a new ticket.

“If someone has a return ticket and they miss the outbound flight, the return sector would not be affected.”

However, if you have a really good reason for being late then it’s worth speaking to them as in exceptional circumstances they do say they are prepared to use their discretion.

Probably the most frustrating time to miss a flight is when you think you’ve arrived at the airport in good time but the queues are so long that