Guides

Lost, Delayed or Damaged Luggage? What to Do and How to Claim

By Colin Bragg · October 31, 2026 · Checked against the Montreal Convention, UK, EU and US rules

Standing at an empty baggage carousel is a miserable way to start a trip. The good news is that on international flights, and on flights in the UK, the EU and the US, airlines are responsible for your checked bags, and there are clear rules on what they owe you. The catch is that those rules come with strict deadlines and need proof. Here's what to do, in order.

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At the airport: report it before you leave

Go to your airline's baggage desk in the arrivals hall, usually near the carousels, before you go through customs or leave the airport. Report the bag as missing or show them the damage, and they'll fill in a report. In the UK and Europe it's called a Property Irregularity Report (PIR); US airlines call it a Mishandled Baggage Report.

• Keep a copy and note the reference number. You'll need it to track the bag and for any claim.
• Photograph any damage there and then, and keep the damaged bag until your claim is settled.
• Keep your boarding pass and bag tag stubs. They prove the bag was checked in on your flight.
• Ask about essentials: what the airline will pay toward while you wait, and whether it has a set daily amount.

A report at the airport isn't a claim in itself. The UK Civil Aviation Authority says it's "no guarantee that the airline will accept your claim", so you still need to follow up in writing.

The deadlines that matter

For international flights, these come from the Montreal Convention, the treaty that sets airlines' liability for passengers and baggage. It's part of UK law and applies to EU airlines, and many countries, including the US, have signed it. Miss a deadline and, apart from fraud by the airline, you can lose the right to claim at all.

Two details catch people out. The complaint must be in writing; a phone call doesn't count. And if you collect your bag without complaining, that's taken as evidence it arrived in good condition, so check it before you leave the airport if you can.

When does a delayed bag become a lost one? Under the treaty, if it hasn't arrived 21 days after it should have, or the airline admits it's lost, you can claim for it as lost.

Delayed bags: what you can claim while you wait

While you wait for a delayed bag, the UK Civil Aviation Authority says, "most airlines will reimburse you for the bare essentials you need to buy when your bag is delayed", such as toiletries, underwear and laundry costs. Some airlines pay a set daily amount instead.

• Buy only what you need, and keep every receipt. A new outfit for each day is unlikely to be paid in full.
• On the way home, airlines may pay less, as you have your own things at home.
• Knock-on losses, such as missing a cruise because your bag was late, aren't something airlines accept automatically. The CAA notes they generally won't pay these unless a court makes them.

How much you can claim

On a checked bag, the airline is responsible whatever the cause, as long as it happened while the bag was in its care. It isn't liable for wear and tear or a fault in the bag itself. For bags you keep with you in the cabin, it's only liable if it was at fault.

• The limit: on international trips under the Montreal Convention, the airline's liability is capped at 1,519 Special Drawing Rights per passenger, for the bag and everything in it. Special Drawing Rights are a unit of account set by the International Monetary Fund, so the value in pounds, euros or dollars moves with exchange rates. The limit was raised from 1,288 on December 28, 2024, and is reviewed every five years.
• It's a ceiling, not a payout. You get what you can prove you lost, up to the limit. As the CAA puts it, there are no rules that fix the amount, and receiving the maximum is very rare.
• Not new for old. Airlines value items by their age, so a five-year-old jacket is worth less than a new one.
• Several airlines on one trip? You can claim from any of them, but usually the last airline you flew with handles it.

Carrying something valuable? Keep it in your carry-on if you can. Otherwise, the treaty lets you make a "special declaration of interest" when you check the bag in, paying a fee if the airline asks, which raises its liability to the amount you declare. Ask at check-in, as not every airline makes this easy.

How to claim

1. Write to the airline within the deadline, using its claim form or email address. Include your name, booking reference, flight numbers and dates, and the PIR or report reference.
2. Say what happened and what you're claiming, item by item, with a total.
3. Attach your proof:
   • dated, itemized receipts for essentials you bought;
   • for lost or damaged items, receipts or card statements; where you have no receipt, the CAA suggests giving the maker, the product, what it cost and how old it is;
   • photos of any damage, and a repair estimate or invoice;
   • your boarding pass and bag tag.
4. Keep copies of everything you send, and note the date.

If you have travel insurance, you may be able to claim from it instead, or for anything the airline won't pay. The CAA notes this can be better, as airlines may not pay the true cost, but there's usually an excess, typically around £40, and a deadline for claims. Check your policy.

If the airline says no

In the UK:

• Alternative dispute resolution (ADR). If the airline turns your claim down, or hasn't replied within 8 weeks of your written complaint, you can take it to the airline's dispute scheme. The two approved schemes, AviationADR and CEDR, are free for passengers, handle baggage claims, and in most cases decide within three months. Apply within 12 months of the airline's final response.
• The CAA's complaints team. If the airline isn't a member of an ADR scheme, the CAA's Passenger Advice and Complaints Team may look at your complaint. It can't force a solution, and it won't take a case with less than a year left to go to court.

Wherever you are, the last resort is court, which under the treaty must be within 2 years of arriving.

Flights in the US

• Domestic flights: US airlines can't limit their liability for lost, damaged or delayed bags to less than $4,700 per passenger, for losses you can prove. This applies on planes with more than 60 seats, and on smaller flights booked on the same ticket. The amount is reviewed every two years.
• Your bag fee back: if a checked bag is lost, or not delivered within 12 hours of arrival on a domestic trip, you're owed a refund of the bag fee. For international trips it's 15 hours when the flight between the US and abroad is 12 hours or less, and 30 hours when it's longer. You must file a Mishandled Baggage Report to get it, and the refund goes back to how you paid.
• International trips to or from the US come under the Montreal Convention, with its limits and deadlines above.

Our guide to US flight rights covers refunds for canceled and delayed flights too.

Changes in the EU from October 2027

New EU passenger rules, Regulation (EU) 2026/2202, apply from October 23, 2027. For baggage, they bring:

• Easier complaints: airlines must offer a form in their apps and on their websites, and airports in their baggage halls, to report a damaged, delayed or lost bag straight away. The date you submit it counts as the date of your complaint, even if the airline asks for more later.
• A free personal item: airlines must let you take a personal item into the cabin at no extra cost, up to 40 × 30 × 15 cm or that fits under the seat in front.
• Bags moved to the hold: if your cabin bag has to go in the hold for safety or space, it's at no extra cost.
• Clear allowances at booking: baggage allowances, sizes and charges, including for things like pushchairs and sports equipment, must be shown when you book.
• Wheelchairs and mobility equipment: passengers must be offered a special declaration of interest for free, raising the airline's liability to the declared value, and airlines must quickly provide temporary replacements, free until compensation is paid.
• Musical instruments can go in the cabin as part of your hand baggage allowance if they can be stowed safely.

For delays and cancellations, see our guide to UK and EU flight rights.

Before you fly: make a claim easy

• Photograph your packed bag and what's in it, and the bag itself.
• Keep valuables, medication and a change of clothes in your carry-on. Our packing list has a carry-on checklist.
• Label it inside and out, and consider a luggage tracker.
• Keep receipts for expensive things you travel with.

A baggage claim comes down to paperwork: your booking reference, flight numbers, the report reference, receipts and photos. Neatrip keeps each trip's bookings together with their references and files, and you can add photos and PDFs to a booking, so the boarding pass, the PIR and the receipts for that emergency toothbrush are all in one place when you write to the airline.

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Sources

• Montreal Convention 1999, as scheduled in UK law: Carriage by Air Act 1961, Schedule 1B (Articles 17, 22, 31 and 35)
• ICAO: revised limits of liability, effective December 28, 2024; UK: The Carriage by Air (Revision of Limits of Liability under the Montreal Convention) Order 2025
• UK Civil Aviation Authority: lost, delayed or damaged baggage, alternative dispute resolution, how the CAA can help
• EU: Regulation (EU) 2026/2202
• US federal regulations, Title 14 (current as of October 29, 2026): Part 254, domestic baggage liability, Part 260, refunds

This guide explains the rules in general and isn't legal advice. Your airline's own conditions of carriage may give you more. Spotted something out of date? Tell us at support@neatrip.app.