What Happens if an Airline Loses Your Luggage?
Airlines are required to compensate you for lost luggage, but the process involves strict deadlines, documentation requirements, and liability caps most passengers don't know about until it's too late.
If an airline loses your luggage, you are entitled to compensation, but only if you follow a specific process within strict deadlines. Most passengers miss those deadlines or fail to file the right paperwork, which is why airlines resolve so many claims for far less than the full amount owed, according to the US Department of Transportation's consumer protection guidance on lost and delayed baggage.
What the airline is required to do
For flights within the United States, airlines are liable for up to $3,800 per passenger for lost, damaged, or delayed baggage under DOT regulations. For international flights governed by the Montreal Convention, the liability limit is approximately 1,288 Special Drawing Rights, roughly $1,700 USD at current exchange rates, according to DOT's official guidance.
Airlines must also reimburse you for reasonable expenses caused by the delay while they search for your bag, things like clothing, toiletries, and other necessities you needed to replace. Keep every receipt.
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The deadlines that most people miss
The timeline matters more than most passengers realise:
- Before leaving the airport: File a Property Irregularity Report (PIR) at the airline's baggage claim desk. If you leave without doing this, your claim becomes significantly harder to pursue.
- Within 21 days: For delayed baggage on international flights, send a written report within 21 days of receiving the bag. For lost baggage, the claim can be filed within two years. For domestic flights, check your airline's contract of carriage, since deadlines vary.
- Within 7 days: For damaged baggage on international flights, the written report must be sent within 7 days of receiving the bag.
Missing the shorter deadlines for damaged and delayed bags can cost you the claim under the Montreal Convention, according to the US Department of Transportation's baggage guidance.
What actually happens step by step
- Report it immediately at the airport. Go to the airline's baggage service office before leaving. Get a file reference number and a copy of the PIR.
- Track it online. Most airlines provide a tracking link with your file reference number.
- Keep spending receipts. Reasonable expenses you incur while waiting for your bag are reimbursable.
- File a formal claim if the bag is not found. Once the bag is treated as lost, the full liability process applies.
- Submit a written claim with documentation. Include your PIR number, a list of the bag's contents with estimated values, and receipts where available. Airlines apply depreciation to used items.
What airlines routinely deny
Airlines' contracts of carriage exclude certain categories from liability, including electronics, cash, jewellery, medications, and fragile items packed in checked bags. If your lost bag contained a laptop or camera, you may receive nothing for those items regardless of the total claim amount.
Travel insurance and credit card travel benefits often cover what airline liability does not, including electronics and higher-value items. Check your policy before assuming the airline will cover everything.
For the full breakdown of why the claims process is structured to make passengers give up, read the complete gotaprob analysis: Airlines Routinely Damage and Destroy Luggage and Make the Claims Process So Painful That Most Passengers Give Up.
Sources
- US Department of Transportation — Lost, Delayed, or Damaged Baggage, liability limits, deadlines, and passenger rights — https://www.transportation.gov/individuals/aviation-consumer-protection/lost-delayed-or-damaged-baggage
Go deeper
Airlines routinely damage and destroy luggage and make the claims process so painful that most passengers give up