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Arriving at your holiday destination only to discover your luggage hasn’t landed with you can be a real pain.
Not only will you usually have to buy toiletries and additional clothing to tide you over until you’re hopefully reunited with your bag, but you may also be missing valuable or sentimental items such as jewellery. Whilst most holidaymakers do get their bags back eventually, sadly, in some cases they disappear for good.
So what can you do if this happens to you? Here, we explain what your rights are when it comes to lost luggage compensation and how much your airline is likely to provide you with if your luggage is lost or delayed.
Who’s liable if your luggage is lost or delayed?
The compensation you’re due from your airline if your luggage goes awol will depend on whether you checked in your luggage or took it on board as cabin baggage. If it’s checked-in luggage, you’re entitled to compensation if it’s damaged, delayed or lost (but you can only claim compensation for damaged luggage if it’s the airline’s fault).
If it’s cabin baggage you only have the right to claim for a problem if it’s the airline’s fault.
What you’ll get if your luggage is delayed or lost
If your luggage is lost or delayed on the way out, you may be able to claim against the airline for essentials, such as toiletries and basic clothing. Some airlines will give you an upfront one-off payment, others will offer a daily amount with an upper limit, and with some airlines, you have to claim for money that you’ve spent to be reimbursed afterwards.
There are no regulations that set out how much an airline should pay if it’s a one-off or daily rate, but you may be able to find this information online or by contacting the carrier directly. For example, Easyjet will pay out a maximum of £25 a day up to a limit of £75 per person. Others, such as BA, say they’ll reimburse ‘reasonable costs’.
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If your luggage is lost
If your luggage can’t be found and has been missing for more than 21 days, it’s treated as lost luggage and you can claim compensation for the cost of the case and its contents. But there are some terms and conditions that you have to meet in order to make a claim.
For example, you can only claim for things you’ve lost where you have a receipt or other proof of purchase (such as a credit card statement). It’s not like home insurance where you can claim on a ‘new for old’ basis. Instead, the airline will give you compensation based on the value of the items that have been lost at the time. The maximum they’ll usually pay out will be up to around £1,000, but you’ll usually get a lot less than this if you can’t provide receipts for everything.
Airlines also won’t generally accept liability for the loss of jewellery, other valuables and money contained in checked baggage, as you’re advised to keep valuables, important documents and money either on your person or in your hand baggage.
Bear in mind that you’ll have to claim within certain time deadlines. There is no legal time limit under the Montreal Convention, but airlines can set their own time limit. As a general rule, If your luggage is delayed or missing, the airline has 21 days to find it and get it to you. If you get your luggage back within 21 days, you can still claim compensation for delayed luggage. If you don’t, you should submit a claim for lost luggage.
If your luggage is damaged the airline should pay for a replacement bag (and any contents that have been damaged) or for a repair. They don’t have to replace damaged bags – they can repair them – so check with the airline before you get rid of it.
If your luggage isn’t on the carousel or is damaged, go to the airline desk and ask them to make out a Property Irregularity Report (PIR) and give you a copy. If you make a claim, the airline will normally want to see this report and it should speed up your claim. But it isn’t a legal requirement for you to have a copy in order to make a claim. There may be a special desk for delayed and lost luggage queries – if so, it’s normally very clearly signposted.
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Claiming on your travel insurance
According to Citizens Advice, you’re likely to be better off making a travel insurance claim for lost luggage instead of going through your airline. You’ll probably get more money and claiming will be easier.
Guy Anker, director at Compare the Market, said: “When heading to the airport, it is a good idea to put locks on your hold luggage and label it. This can help protect you from theft and help you get your luggage returned safely should it get lost. Check that your travel insurance covers you should you lose your luggage or if your possessions are damaged while you are away. It’s worth factoring in expensive items you’ll be travelling with to check if they’re covered by the policy too.”
Before buying travel insurance, it’s worth checking whether you already have cover in place. After all, the last thing you want to do is effectively end up paying for cover twice.
For example, many people are covered as part of the range of benefits that are provided by their packaged current accounts. If your current account does come with travel insurance, it’s best to check the fine print of your policy so that you’re clear on exactly what is and isn’t covered. Find out more about travel insurance in our article Travel Insurance for over 50s – Everything you need to know.
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