A missing checked bag creates two separate jobs: get it traced and document the money you lost. Report it at the airport before you leave, obtain a written mishandled-baggage report, and then submit the airline's compensation claim with an inventory and supporting documents.

For most U.S. domestic trips, federal rules generally allow baggage liability up to $4,700 per passenger. International carriage is often governed by the Montreal Convention, whose revised baggage limit is 1,519 Special Drawing Rights (SDRs) per passenger. Neither number is an automatic payment. You still have to show what was lost, and exclusions or a lower actual value can reduce the claim.

What to do when your luggage is missing

Report the bag before leaving the airport

Go to the airline's baggage service desk as soon as you realize the bag is missing. Ask for:

• A Property Irregularity Report (PIR) or equivalent mishandled-baggage report
• The report reference number, such as a WorldTracer number if the airline uses WorldTracer
• The baggage claim-tag number from your receipt
• Written instructions for the compensation claim and its deadline
• Confirmation of how the airline will contact you and deliver the bag if it is found

The PIR number identifies the missing-bag report. The baggage-tag number identifies the suitcase. Keep both; you'll need them when you follow up.

If the desk is closed, use the airline's official website, app, or telephone number. Save the online confirmation, screenshots, emails, call times, and reference numbers. A later report may make the claim more difficult, particularly if the airline's contract sets a short notice period.

Preserve evidence while the details are fresh

Keep a single folder, physical or digital, for the claim. Include:

• Your itinerary and boarding passes
• The baggage receipt and tag
• The PIR and any delivery messages
• Photos of the suitcase, identifying marks, and contents
• Receipts for clothes, toiletries, medication, or other necessary purchases
• Every written response from the airline
• A copy of each claim form you submit

A Bluetooth tracker can help locate the suitcase and give the airline useful information. A location screenshot by itself doesn't prove the value of the contents or guarantee compensation.

Give the airline a workable delivery address

Tell the airline where you can receive the bag and how to reach you. If you're moving between hotels, provide each address and the dates you'll be there. Ask whether the airline will deliver the suitcase instead of requiring you to return to the airport.

A PIR is not the same as a compensation claim

A PIR starts the tracing process. It usually isn't the formal claim for money.

Submit the airline's online or written claim as soon as its instructions allow, even while the bag is still being traced. Include the flight number, route, travel dates, baggage-tag number, PIR reference, contact details, and amount requested. Say whether the claim concerns delayed delivery, permanent loss, damage, or necessary expenses.

Don't wait 21 days before reporting the bag or recording your expenses. Under the Montreal Convention, baggage that hasn't been delivered within 21 days can generally be treated as lost. An airline may also classify a bag as lost earlier.

How to calculate the claim

Airlines generally look at the reasonable, documented value of the items lost. They don't automatically pay the liability limit or the original price of every item.

Make an inventory that separates original price from the item's value when it went missing:

Receipts are useful, but they aren't the only evidence. Order histories, photographs, credit-card statements, warranty records, and comparable product listings can help. For costly items, explain the age and condition. The airline may use current or depreciated value rather than the price of a brand-new replacement.

For a delayed bag, request only reasonable and necessary purchases caused by the delay. Buy practical replacements that fit the trip and the destination. An entire luxury wardrobe, expensive accessories, and upgrades are more likely to be challenged.

There is no universal legal entitlement to a fixed $50 or $100 daily allowance. An airline may offer an amenity kit, cash advance, or daily allowance under its own policy, but reimbursement normally depends on reasonable actual expenses and the rules that apply to the trip.

A checked-bag fee refund is a separate request

A refund of the checked-bag fee is separate from compensation for the contents. For flights covered by U.S. Department of Transportation baggage-fee rules, a refund may be due when a checked bag is lost or significantly delayed after you report the mishandling.

DOT thresholds generally treat a bag as significantly delayed if it hasn't been delivered within:

• 12 hours after arrival of a domestic flight
• 15 hours after arrival of an international flight lasting 12 hours or less
• 30 hours after arrival of a longer international flight

Ask for the fee refund separately and keep the mishandled-baggage report. The refund doesn't replace a claim for reasonable expenses or the value of a permanently lost bag. See the U.S. Department of Transportation baggage guidance for coverage details.

Which liability rules apply?

U.S. domestic flights

For most domestic transportation, federal rules allow an airline to limit baggage liability to $4,700 per passenger. That's a ceiling, not a guaranteed award. If your proven loss is $600, the airline generally doesn't owe $4,700.

The airline's contract of carriage may set out the claim procedure, notice deadlines, valuation method, and exclusions. Check it before packing items that the airline advises passengers not to place in checked baggage.

International flights under the Montreal Convention

The Montreal Convention commonly applies when an itinerary involves international carriage between countries that follow the convention. Baggage liability is expressed in SDRs, an international accounting unit whose dollar value changes with exchange rates.

The revised limit is 1,519 SDRs per passenger for baggage claims subject to that limit. The often-repeated figure of 1,288 SDRs is older. Check the airline's current liability notice and the law governing the itinerary before relying on a dollar conversion.

The limit applies to the passenger's qualifying baggage claim; it isn't a payment for each suitcase. It generally covers proven loss involving checked baggage and, where applicable, unchecked baggage. A special declaration of interest made when the bag is handed to the airline, together with any required supplemental payment, may permit a higher declared value.

For background, see the European Union's official summary of air carrier passenger and baggage liability.

EU261 doesn't create a flat lost-baggage payment

EU261 mainly covers flight cancellations, long flight delays, and denied boarding. It doesn't create an automatic €250, €400, or €600 payment for lost luggage. Baggage claims on many European itineraries are handled under the Montreal Convention and the airline's liability rules instead.

Some routes may be governed by the Warsaw Convention or another regime. Check the ticket, conditions of carriage, and airline liability notice. France's Service-Public guidance on lost, delayed, or damaged baggage also explains how the applicable convention and the airline's nationality can affect the claim.

Mobility aids and medical equipment

Wheelchairs, scooters, prosthetic devices, and other mobility aids receive special protection under U.S. accessibility rules. They aren't handled in exactly the same way as ordinary checked baggage under the usual liability cap.

Report a missing or damaged mobility aid immediately to the airline's disability assistance team. Ask for repair or replacement instructions, and keep repair estimates, receipts, photographs, and details of any temporary equipment the airline provides.

International and connecting flights

The last airline that handled your bag isn't automatically the only carrier you should contact. On a connecting itinerary, notify:

1. The airline that issued the ticket, if it was different
2. The airline operating the final flight
3. Any carrier shown on the baggage tag
4. The airport baggage service office where you discovered the problem

Send the relevant carriers the same PIR, baggage tag, itinerary, and inventory. Which carrier must handle the claim can depend on the convention that applies and where the loss or delay occurred. Contacting the carriers doesn't mean each one will pay the full claim.

IATA Resolution 753 is an industry baggage-tracking standard. It can help airlines trace a suitcase, but it isn't a compensation law, doesn't create a fixed payment, and doesn't replace the airline's claim deadlines.

Baggage claim deadlines

Deadlines depend on the route and the airline's contract. Use the following as a starting point, then check the airline's written instructions:

The Montreal two-year period generally concerns bringing a court action. It doesn't give you two years to wait before notifying the airline. Administrative claim deadlines are usually much shorter.

When a delayed bag arrives, inspect it promptly. Photograph any damage before discarding packaging or making repairs, and send written notice within the applicable deadline.

Why an airline may deny the claim

"You didn't report it at the airport"

Send the PIR, online report, email confirmation, or call record. If no baggage desk was open, say what you did, when you did it, and why. Ask the airline to identify the exact deadline and contract provision it believes you missed.

"There are no receipts"

Receipts help, but other records may establish ownership and value. Provide photographs, purchase histories, credit-card records, warranty documents, and a detailed inventory. Use conservative values instead of claiming the cost of a new replacement for every used item.

"The purchases were unreasonable"

For each replacement, explain why it was needed, how long the bag was missing, the purpose of the trip, and why you chose that price. Separate essential purchases from optional ones.

"The item was excluded"

Ask the airline to identify the specific exclusion in its current conditions of carriage. Airlines commonly limit categories such as cash, jewelry, fragile goods, perishable items, documents, and some electronics when packed in checked baggage. That doesn't mean every disputed item is automatically excluded.

If an airline employee required you to check a carry-on at the gate, include that fact, along with the receipt and any witness information. It may affect how the airline applies an exclusion.

"Weather caused the problem"

Bad weather can affect compensation for a flight delay, but it doesn't automatically erase every baggage claim. Ask whether the airline is disputing the loss, the amount, the notice deadline, or the cause of the delay. Those are separate issues.

How to appeal a denial

Send one factual appeal through the airline's official baggage portal or customer-relations channel. Attach:

• PIR and baggage-tag numbers
• Flight details and travel dates
• The amount requested
• Your inventory and supporting evidence
• Receipts for necessary purchases
• The denial letter
• A short response to each reason given for the denial

Ask the airline for its calculation, the exact contract provision it used, any depreciation applied, and the reason it rejected particular items. Request a written response; a phone promise is difficult to prove later.

If the airline still refuses, these are the usual next steps:

1. File a DOT complaint when the matter involves a U.S. airline or a flight covered by U.S. aviation consumer rules. DOT can review complaints and identify patterns, but it doesn't act as your lawyer or guarantee an award.
2. Notify your travel insurer promptly. Check the policy's deadline, baggage limit, deductible, depreciation rules, and exclusions. Tell the insurer about any airline payment so you don't seek double recovery.
3. Review card benefits separately. Some credit cards include baggage-delay or baggage-loss coverage. Eligibility depends on how the trip was paid for and on the benefit terms. A credit-card billing dispute isn't a substitute for the airline baggage claim.
4. Consider court for a modest, well-documented claim. Small-claims limits, filing rules, and the proper defendant vary by state. An international claim also requires attention to the Montreal Convention's two-year court deadline and jurisdiction rules.

A customer-service supervisor may correct a documentation mistake, but a voucher or frequent-flyer miles offer isn't the same as cash compensation. Don't accept an offer as a full settlement until you understand which rights you may be giving up.

Reduce the risk of a baggage dispute

• Keep medication, identification, keys, valuables, irreplaceable documents, and essential electronics in your carry-on.
• Photograph the suitcase and its contents before checking it.
• Put your name and contact details inside and outside the bag.
• Use a distinctive tag and a permitted tracker.
• Keep the baggage receipt until the trip is over.
• Avoid tight connections when you can.
• Check the airline's prohibited and excluded-items list before packing.
• Save receipts for expensive items and consider travel insurance if the airline's liability cap is too low.

Frequently asked questions

Is 21 days the universal deadline for lost luggage?
No. Under the Montreal Convention, 21 days is both the important threshold for treating delayed baggage as lost and the usual written-complaint period for delayed baggage after delivery. U.S. domestic claims follow the airline's contract and applicable law.

Will I automatically receive 1,519 SDRs?
No. It is a maximum liability limit for qualifying international baggage claims, not a fixed payment. You must prove the loss, and exclusions or a lower actual value may apply.

Can I claim clothes and toiletries bought during a delay?
You can usually request reasonable, necessary, documented expenses caused by the delay. Keep itemized receipts and avoid luxury purchases.

Does EU261 pay compensation for lost luggage?
Not as a standard flat payment. EU261 mainly concerns flight delays, cancellations, and denied boarding. Baggage compensation is generally handled under the applicable baggage-liability regime.

What if I forgot to report the bag at the airport?
Use the airline's official reporting channel immediately and ask for written confirmation. Explain why you couldn't use the airport desk, then follow the airline's formal claim process.

This is general consumer information, not legal advice. If your bag is missing now, photograph the tag, report the problem through the airline's official channel, and keep the confirmation number with your receipts.