Supervisor Elham AbolFateh
Editor in Chief Mohamed Wadie

Lost Your Bag, Don't Worry, Here's What to Do


Sun 07 Jul 2019 | 05:00 PM
Hassan El-Khawaga

Millions of people are traveling everyday carrying tonnes of luggage with them touring the world. Therefore, there is a high possibility for travelers to lose some of their baggage at airports.

If you travel to a new country and you found that your luggage is missing, DON'T panic or worry. About 79% of mishandled bags are just delayed, according to the Société Internationale de Télécommunications Aéronautiques’s (SITA) 2016 Baggage Report.

Also, research conducted by the Association of European Airlines showed that around 85% of lost luggage is found and delivered within two days, according to Clever Journey website.

First of all, stay calm and head for the airport’s baggage claim office and file a report of your lost luggage as soon as possible because some airlines determine a certain number of hours to report your missing bags.

Filing a report will help the airlines to locate your lost bag. Airlines have tracking systems in place to try to identify the bag’s location.

[caption id="attachment_63328" align="aligncenter" width="1024"]Baggage Claim Office Baggage Claim Office[/caption]

You will also get a paper trail that will allow you to receive reimbursement for the items you bought. You will receive a code that could be used later to follow up on the current status of your claim.

As much as you can, keep in close communication with the airline. Don't wait for their call and follow what had been accomplished in your case.

If your bag is really lost, the airline must compensate for it and your lost items. You won’t get the full price of the lost items but a decreased amount, according to Montreal Convention.

Your luggage is considered lost after 21 days. But this can vary from one airline to another.

The airline has to compensate you for your bags’ contents. Keep in mind that airlines may require receipts for valuable items to prove the value of items you had on your flight.

If you are on an international flight, the maximum baggage liability for flights, according to Montreal Convention is approximately $1,600.

If you are flying within the United States, you can get compensation for delayed luggage of up to $3500.