Lost luggage is not a disaster; it is an administrative process that lasts between four hours and twenty-one days and pays out better than the myths claim — provided a handful of actions happens in the first hour and a laptop bag of evidence exists afterward. Here is the correct sequence, the real compensation amounts under the law, and the prevention habits that make the whole problem unlikely.
The first hour: four actions at the baggage hall
- Do not leave the hall without a Property Irregularity Report (PIR). The airline’s desk at the carousel issues it; it carries the reference number that every claim, phone call, and reimbursement runs on. Photograph the filed report and the reference before leaving.
- Register the bag’s contents honestly in the report: rough categories and the bag’s distinctive features. Inventory detail matters only at claim time; the report is the trigger.
- Ask the delivery address deliberately: the bag is delivered to the hotel or apartment stated on the report — give the exact address and a local phone number (the hotel front desk will serve) so nothing stalls on a wrong destination.
- Photograph the carousel area and the tag — the 30 seconds that end “the bag never arrived here” arguments before they start.
What the law guarantees (Montreal Convention, in brief)
For international flights by signatory carriers, lost, damaged, or delayed baggage liability runs to about 1,288 special drawing rights (roughly 1,600 euro) per passenger. Delayed bags are a delay — the airline owes reasonable replacements until the bag returns; lost means filed as lost after about 21 days. What must exist: the checked ticket, meaning your claim flows from checked luggage only. Items in the cabin (and valuables you did not check) are outside the scope, which is the single strongest argument for carrying electronics and documents on your body — the carry-on logic in our one-bag system phrases it best: things you cannot afford to lose in transit should never pass through a conveyor belt.
The mid-process: daily calls and the receipts book
Between the first hour and delivery, two habits earn every euro: call the reference line daily (a bag with a day-3 call record typically moves faster — the dispatch system prioritises nagged bags) and buy only essentials and keep every receipt. Airlines reimburse “necessary items” up to stated daily caps (commonly 25–50 euro per day for the first days) — the toothbrush, the basics, and one change of clothing per missing person are safely inside that band; a new hiking pack is not. For family weeks, family beach weeks, split the suitcase contents across family bags so a single loss never strands an entire family.
If the bag never appears
After 21 days it is “lost” and the full Montreal liability applies (up to that ~1,600 euro cap), documented with the PIR, the receipts, the ticket, and any evidence of value (photos of the packed bag — the reason the packing list advises photographing it closed). Claims through the airline first; travel insurance with the airline’s refusal letter second — the two-tier claim structure mirrors the flight-delay system in our EU261 guide, and travel insurers reimburse only what the airline has not already paid. Time limits: claims for delayed bags run to 21 days from receipt; for lost bags, two years under the convention, but file at day 22 and do not wait.
Defence: how to make the problem unlikely
- Fly direct where feasible — most mishandling happens at tight connections.
- Remove old tags and add a personal tag with a reachable phone number, not the home address.
- Distinctive appearance: a bright strap, a visible name panel — most misroutes are bag-confusion between identical suitcases.
- One change of clothes in the cabin bag for every passenger, as standard. This turns even the worst outcome into an inconvenience rather than an emergency.
- Check the tag’s destination code at the desk — reading three letters (the destination airport code) takes five seconds and catches most routing errors at the point of maximum fixability.
The verdict
Lost luggage resolves through paperwork, persistence, and receipts — not panic. The first-hour four actions lock in the rights; the daily-call-and-receipts discipline collects the money; and the five prevention habits reduce the probability to near noise. Anyone travelling with essential cargo (diving equipment, medical supplies, instruments — anyone paying the premium for the extra bag) should read the connection between this guide and the insurance checks directly: the policies treat checked-baggage losses exactly as framed here.