What to do when your baggage is lost or delayed

Baggage compensation works nothing like flight compensation. There is no fixed sum; you prove your actual loss and are paid up to a cap.

That cap is 1,519 SDR per passenger. The SDR is the International Monetary Fund's unit of account and its rate moves daily — roughly €1,700–1,900. The IMF publishes the current rate every day.

Do this before leaving the airport

Skipping this step is the most common and most expensive mistake.

If your bag doesn't arrive or arrives damaged, go to the airline's baggage desk before you leave the airport and file a PIR (Property Irregularity Report). Take a copy and the reference number.

Claims made later without a PIR are usually refused, because the airline has no record tying the loss to its own handling.

The deadlines are strict

Article 31 of the Montreal Convention sets hard deadlines for written complaints. Miss them and you lose the right to sue as well.

If a bag isn't found within 21 days it is treated as lost and the compensation process begins.

What you can claim

For delay: the cost of what you genuinely had to buy while waiting. Clothes, toiletries, a shirt for a meeting. Receipts are required. Airlines usually read "reasonable" as a daily ceiling; swimwear on day one of a beach holiday is reasonable, a designer suit is not.

For loss: the value of the contents, up to 1,519 SDR. You'll be asked for an inventory and, where possible, receipts or purchase records. This is why keeping valuables out of checked baggage is a practical necessity rather than just advice.

For damage: repair costs, or the value of the bag if it can't be repaired.

How far the airline's liability runs

The airline is liable from the moment the bag is checked in until it is handed back. This liability is strict — you don't have to prove why the bag was lost.

Two exceptions: damage arising from the inherent defect of the item itself, and cabin baggage where the airline was not at fault.

You can make a special declaration of value for high-value items. Declare the bag's value at check-in and pay a supplement, and the cap rises to the declared amount. It's rarely used, but it makes sense for a musical instrument or professional equipment.

Connecting flights: who is responsible

On a single booking you can claim from either the first or the last carrier. They settle the split between themselves.

On separate tickets it's different: each airline is only responsible for the leg it carried, and because you must collect and recheck the bag yourself, the chain breaks. This is the hidden cost of cheap-looking self-transfer itineraries.

The claim process

1. File the PIR at the airport and keep the reference number.
2. Keep the baggage tag, boarding pass and ticket.
3. Collect receipts for anything you had to buy while waiting.
4. Submit a written claim within the deadline: PIR number, flight details, the amount you're claiming and why.
5. If refused, escalate to the national enforcement body — the CAA in the UK, the DGCA in Türkiye.
6. Court action must be brought within two years.

Tell your travel insurer as well. Insurance often covers the interim costs faster, or the portion the airline won't pay; the two claims don't block each other.

Sources

• Montreal Convention liability limits, ICAO — raised from 1,288 to 1,519 SDR on 28 December 2024
• Montreal Convention articles 17 (liability), 22 (limits), 31 (notice deadlines), 35 (limitation period)
• SHY-YOLCU regulation, Directorate General of Civil Aviation, Türkiye

This article is for information only and is not legal advice. For an actual dispute, rely on the current text of the applicable regulation.