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File a report before you leave the airport — this is the step that determines whether a claim succeeds. US domestic liability is capped at roughly $4,700 per passenger, and international itineraries fall under the Montreal Convention at approximately $1,900. Airlines must also refund the checked bag fee if the bag is delayed.
Key Travel Facts & Insights
Go to the airline baggage service office in the baggage hall and file a Property Irregularity Report. Get the reference number in writing. Leaving the airport without filing is the most common reason claims are later refused.
Brand, colour, size, distinguishing marks and any external tags. Photograph your bag before you travel — a photo makes identification and any subsequent damage claim substantially easier.
Most airlines will authorise reasonable interim purchases — toiletries, a change of clothes — while the bag is missing. Ask what the daily limit is and get it in writing, then keep every receipt.
Most bags are located within 24–48 hours. Use the airline's tracking reference and follow up in writing rather than by phone so you build a dated record.
If your bag was delayed, the airline must refund the checked bag fee you paid. This is separate from any expenses claim and must usually be requested explicitly.
Bags are generally declared lost after 21 days. Submit an itemised list of contents with purchase dates and values, supported by receipts or photographs where you have them. Airlines depreciate values, so document original cost.
On US domestic itineraries, DOT rules cap airline liability at approximately $4,700 per passenger, adjusted periodically for inflation. On international itineraries the Montreal Convention applies, capping liability at 1,288 Special Drawing Rights — roughly $1,900 depending on exchange rates.
These are ceilings, not entitlements. Airlines pay the depreciated value of what you can document, not the replacement cost of what you say was inside.
Airlines exclude a long list of items from liability, and the exclusions are the reason many claims pay far less than expected.
Report damage before leaving the airport, exactly as with a lost bag. Airlines generally repair, replace or compensate for damage they caused, but exclude normal wear and tear, minor scuffs, and damage to protruding parts such as wheels, handles and external pockets — which is where most damage actually occurs.
Photograph the damage at the baggage office with an agent present.
Baggage cover on a travel insurance policy frequently pays more usefully than an airline claim: it covers items airlines exclude, pays replacement value rather than depreciated value on some policies, and triggers a delay benefit after a defined number of hours without requiring the bag to be declared lost.
Many premium credit cards include baggage delay and loss cover when the ticket was paid for with the card. Check before buying separate cover.
Up to approximately $4,700 per passenger on US domestic itineraries and approximately $1,900 on international itineraries under the Montreal Convention. Those are ceilings — airlines pay the documented, depreciated value of the contents, and exclude electronics, jewellery, cash and medication.
Yes. US DOT rules require airlines to refund the checked bag fee when a bag is delayed. It is separate from any expenses claim and usually has to be requested explicitly rather than being refunded automatically.
Report it as soon as you can, but be aware that most airlines require a report within a defined window — often four hours for delay and seven days for damage on international itineraries. A late report is frequently refused, which is why filing before leaving the baggage hall matters so much.
Our US travel consultants handle changes, cancellations, refunds and claims directly. No charge to ask.