Lost or delayed luggage: what to do and how much you can claim

First, at the airport: report it before you leave

If your bag doesn’t come off the carousel, go to the airline’s baggage desk, usually in the reclaim hall, before you go through customs or leave the airport. The desk is often run by a handling agent on the airline’s behalf.

1. 1Report the missing bag and fill in a Property Irregularity Report (PIR). Keep your copy and the reference number
2. 2Give a description of the bag, your baggage tag number and a delivery address and phone number for the rest of your trip
3. 3Ask what the airline will pay for while you wait, and whether it has a limit per day
4. 4Keep your boarding pass and baggage tag receipt: you’ll need them for the claim
5. 5Track the bag using the reference number on the airline’s or handling agent’s website

Which rules cover your bag?

UK261, the rule that gives fixed compensation for delayed and cancelled flights, doesn’t cover baggage. For bags, the main law on international flights is the Montreal Convention, an international treaty that the UK, the EU, the US and most other countries have signed. The UK applies it to flights by UK airlines too. On flights within the US, the Department of Transportation (DOT) sets the rules.

Delayed bags: what you can claim

Most missing bags turn up within a few days. While you wait, the airline is liable for the damage caused by the delay, which in practice means reasonable costs of replacing essentials. The CAA gives toiletries, underwear and laundry costs as examples when you’re away from home.

Keep a full, itemised receipt for everything you buy, not just a card slip, and buy only what you need. The CAA notes that airlines don’t automatically accept claims for wider losses caused by the delay. If you need something more expensive, such as a suit for a wedding, ask the airline before you buy it.

Once the bag is delivered, you have 21 days to claim in writing. That deadline comes from the Montreal Convention itself, and missing it can end your claim, so don’t wait for the end of your trip.

On flights to, from or within the US, you’re also entitled to a refund of any fee you paid to check the bag if it’s significantly delayed. The DOT defines that as not delivered within 12 hours of a domestic flight landing, or 15 hours of an international flight landing (30 hours if the flight is over 12 hours). You must file a mishandled baggage report with the airline first.

When a delayed bag becomes a lost bag

Under the Montreal Convention, if your checked bag hasn’t arrived 21 days after the date it should have, the airline can be treated as having lost it, and you can claim for the bag and its contents. On US domestic flights, the DOT says airlines must also refund the checked bag fee for a lost bag.

A claim for a lost bag works like an insurance claim. List every item with its approximate value and age, and send any receipts or photos you have. Airlines usually pay the depreciated value of older items, not the cost of new ones, and on US domestic flights the DOT says airlines don’t have to pay for items their contracts of carriage exclude, which often include valuables such as jewellery and electronics. The DOT notes that on international journeys, the Montreal Convention doesn’t allow airlines to exclude whole categories of items, though the overall limit still applies.

Damaged bags and missing items

If your bag arrives damaged, or something has been taken from it, report it at the baggage desk before you leave the airport if you can, and photograph the damage. The Montreal Convention gives you 7 days from receiving the bag to complain to the airline in writing.

Airlines often exclude wear and tear, such as scuffs, broken straps or damaged wheels on an overpacked case, so read the airline’s conditions of carriage. Fragile and valuable items are best carried in the cabin.

How to claim, and where to go if the airline says no

On a journey with several airlines, the Montreal Convention lets you claim from the first airline, the last one, or the one whose flight lost or damaged the bag; the last airline is usually simplest, as you report the bag to it on arrival. You don’t need a claims company.

1. 1Send a written claim using the airline’s online form or by email, within the deadline: 21 days for delay, 7 days for damage
2. 2Attach your PIR, boarding pass, baggage tag and itemised receipts
3. 3Keep copies of everything you send and the date you sent it
4. 4UK airlines and flights: if the airline rejects your claim or hasn’t replied within eight weeks, go to its alternative dispute resolution (ADR) body or, if it doesn’t have one, the CAA
5. 5US flights: file a complaint with the US Department of Transportation
6. 6Court action under the Montreal Convention must start within two years of the flight

Travel insurance and how to avoid it happening

Travel insurance can cover what the airline doesn’t, such as valuables or costs above the airline’s limit. Check whether your policy pays for essentials during a delay, and whether you must claim from the airline first.

Our advice, to cut the risk: keep medicines, chargers and a change of clothes in your hand luggage, leave enough time for bags to make a connection (see how long a layover you need), and avoid self-transfer itineraries where you have to recheck bags. Power banks must stay in the cabin anyway; see our guide to power bank rules. Our checked baggage allowances guide covers weights and sizes, and your rights when a flight is cancelled or delayed covers the flight itself. Flying London to New York? Both the Montreal Convention and US DOT rules can apply.

Questions people ask