Short delay - but very short layover

Hessuca

Hello! I was delayed out of Heathrow to Madrid as a result of Air Traffic Control. I was sold a single ticket by British Airways from London. to Madrid then on to Costa Rica. However it only had a 45 minute layover! We assumed this was fine, but obviously it wasn't and we missed our second flight. This resulted on is arriving on holiday one day late (BA put us up in Madrid and put us on the next flight). Is anyone aware of a compensation mechanism here? I know a delay due to ATC means if isn't covered by the EU regulations - but 45 minutes is very ambitious (!) and contrary to BA's on internal policy of 70 minutes.

Thanks in advance for any replies!

Caz3121

Hessuca wrote: »

I was sold a single ticket by British Airways from London. to Madrid then on to Costa Rica. However it only had a 45 minute layover! We assumed this was fine, but obviously it wasn't and we missed our second flight.

when you book a flight with a connection you will be offered a number of different options and it is up to you to decide how tight (or long) you wish your connection to be
not sure when you travelled but looking at a random date for the flights connecting to the IB flight, there is the option to depart LHR at 06:30 or 07:25....I assume you opted for the latter giving you a tighter connection rather than giving yourself the additional hour by taking the earlier flight
If flights had been on time then there would have been no issue and 45 minutes is a valid connection time at Madrid
There is no internal policy of 70 minutes, MCT will vary by airport (including different MCTs if you are switching terminals) and connecting airlines
You took a gamble in selecting a short connection and it did not pay off.
Personally I am more risk averse and would not have selected that connection and would have chosen something longer but everyone has their own attitude to risk
You may be able to claim something from your travel insurance but, as the delay was due to ATC, there is no compensation from the airline