miss a flight

Meaning

To miss a flight means to arrive too late at the airport or boarding gate and fail to get onto the airplane before it departs. This expression is highly common in travel contexts and carries a stressful or negative connotation. It is used in both casual conversations and professional travel updates.

Examples

• If we don't leave for the airport right now, we are going to miss our flight.

  If we don't leave for the airport right now, we are going to miss our flight.

• He missed his flight because he got stuck in a massive traffic jam.

  He missed his flight because he got stuck in a massive traffic jam.

• Missing a flight is incredibly stressful, especially when traveling long distances.

  Missing a flight is incredibly stressful, especially when traveling long distances.

• The airline helped me book a new ticket after I missed my flight.

  The airline helped me book a new ticket after I missed my flight.

• I had to run through the terminal so I wouldn't miss my flight to Tokyo.

  I had to run through the terminal so I wouldn't miss my flight to Tokyo.

Common Mistakes

• ✗ I lost my flight because of the heavy traffic.

  ✓ I missed my flight because of the heavy traffic.

  In English, you 'miss' a scheduled transport event (flight, train, bus), whereas 'lose' means you can no longer find a physical object.

• ✗ If you are late, you will skip your flight.

  ✓ If you are late, you will miss your flight.

  'Skip' implies a voluntary decision not to attend or do something, whereas 'miss' means you failed to catch it due to time constraints.

Related Expressions

Practice

• If you do not check in online beforehand, you might run out of time and ___.

  💡 Fail to catch your plane

  Show answer

  miss a flight

• No one wants to ___ on their way to a dream vacation.

  💡 Arrive too late to board the airplane

  Show answer

  miss a flight