What happens if your luggage is lost or delayed, and what can you claim?
Airline liability for baggage on international flights is governed by the Montreal Convention, which sets a cap per passenger covering destruction, loss, damage and delay combined — and which is considerably less generous than people expect.
The limit. Liability is capped at a figure expressed in Special Drawing Rights, an IMF unit, currently around 1,288 SDR — roughly £1,100–£1,300 depending on exchange rates, and revised periodically. That is the maximum for everything in the bag, not per item.
Crucially, this is a cap on liability, not a payout. You must evidence your actual loss, and the airline will pay the lower of your proven loss and the cap. Depreciation is applied to used items.
The time limits, which are strict and defeat many claims:
Damage — complain in writing within 7 days of receiving the bag.
Delay — within 21 days from the date the bag was made available.
Court proceedings — within 2 years, which cannot be extended.
What to do immediately:
Report it before leaving the airport and obtain a property irregularity report with a reference. Leaving without one makes any later claim considerably harder.
Keep the bag tag and boarding pass.
Buy essentials and keep every receipt. Delayed baggage claims cover reasonable replacement of necessities — toiletries, underwear, a change of clothes — not a wardrobe upgrade, and airlines routinely dispute what counts as reasonable.
Photograph damage before repair.
When a bag counts as lost: most airlines treat baggage as lost after 21 days, at which point the delay claim becomes a loss claim.
Where to claim first. The operating carrier handles it, though you may claim against the carrier you contracted with. Travel insurance frequently pays faster and more generously — and insurers will expect you to have claimed from the airline first.
Credit card and home insurance may also cover baggage.
What reduces the risk: carry medication, valuables, electronics and documents in hand luggage — airline liability for such items in checked bags is frequently excluded entirely — and use a tracker.
General information, not legal advice.