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What Happens and What to do if your luggage is lost... |
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The British Airports Authority states that individual airlines are responsible for the management and security of your bags.
If your luggage goes missing in transit it is vital that you report your luggage lost to the lost baggage desk at the airport. |
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- The first thing you must do is report your lost bags to the Lost Baggage desk at the airport.
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| You will be asked to describe your bags as best as you can and then you will be given a reference number so that you can track the progress of your lost luggage by phone or online. |
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| You may be asked to list the contents of the lost bags and provide original receipts for these items. The airline is then acting like an insurance company, and like insurers their offer of compensation is unlikely to match your claim in full. |
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| Some airlines do not actually declare your bags as lost until they have been missing for a specified amount of time. For example, British Airways officially declares baggage as lost if it has not turned up after 21 days. |
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| After this time you may be entitled to compensation from your airline. Many airlines state that they are limited by the Montreal Convention to paying customers around £800 per person in compensation for lost luggage. |
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| Many airlines will advise customers to claim for lost luggage on their travel insurance but unfortunately many insurers do not cover valuables which are packed in bags that are stowed in the hold of the aircraft. |
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| If your insurance company does cover you for lost luggage it is likely that |
| they will make a reclaim the money from the airline's insurance anyway. |
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| Connecting Flights |
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If your journey involves connecting between more than one airline you may be able to check in your bag for the entire journey at the first point of check-in.
If you do so and something happens to your bags you can claim against any of the airlines that carried it. Some airlines try to blame the other airline and refuse to handle the claim. When they do so they are in breach of the Montreal Convention. |
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| Limited Release Tags |
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When you check in certain items some airlines attach a Limited Release Tag (LRT). Such items may include musical instruments, sporting equipment (surfboards) or prams and buggies.
The LRT is intended to remove the airline’s liability if the item is damaged and you may find that the airline refuses your claim. However, if an airline accepts an item as checked baggage it must accept liability for it as set out in the Montreal Convention. |
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| According to the Montreal Convention, passengers baggage is termed as 'delayed' for a period of 21 days after it is reported as missing. |
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For delayed baggage some airlines offer customers an immediate one-off payments at a set amount to cover emergency purchases like toiletries and underwear.
Some will pay a set amount per day up to a maximum number of days. And others will not make cash payments at the time but will prefer to reimburse you on essential items on seeing receipts.
But the general principle is to cover essential costs resulting from the delay to delivery of the baggage. |
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| If your bags are missing for longer than 21 days then they are deemed lost and you can then proceed to make arrangements with your airline or travel insurance company to claim compensation. |
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In assessing claims for damaged bags most airlines make a payment based on the value of the damaged bag or on any of its contents that were also damaged.
They may ask for original receipts for the items and they will probably apply a scale of depreciation to any payment made. If it is just the bag or suitcase that is damaged some airlines simply offer a new one from their store cupboard. |
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Where individual items are missing from your baggage it is very difficult to get any compensation from an airline because it is difficult to prove that the items were there in the first place.
This is another reason to use high quality luggage and not to put valuables in baggage checked into the hold and to always have travel insurance. Most airlines have a clause in their terms and conditions saying that they do not accept responsibility for perishable or valuable items (like cameras, camcorders, mobile phones, documents or jewellery).
It is arguable whether such exclusions are compatible with the provisions of the Montreal Convention. But remember that an airline is liable only for items that it has agreed to carry in the first place.
If you packed items in your luggage that were listed as “items unacceptable as baggage” in the airline’s conditions of carriage you will not be able to claim against the airline if they go missing! So the answer is to keep very valuable items on your person in your hand luggage. |
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Tips on how to prevent lost luggage... |
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| You can never completely guarantee that your bags will not be lost by your airline but there are a few things that you can do to help: |
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- Keep a list of what you have packed. You can use it as an inventory if the worst happens and your bags are lost
- Put a piece of paper inside each piece of luggage with your name and address on it in case the label on the outside of your bag falls off.
- Consider using a service such as Flymycase which will transport your luggage anywhere in the world for a small charge.
- Keep any receipts that you have for items in your bags in a safe place as you may need them if your bags are lost.
- Take valuable items such as cameras, jewellery or mobile phones in your hand luggage as many airlines do not deem such items as 'acceptable baggage items' - in other words, you will not be able to claim compensation from the airline for these items if they were stowed in the aircraft hold.
- It is important to have travel insurance if you want to make sure that you are covered if your bags are lost or damaged in transit. Read our Travel Insurance Page for more information and advice.
- Try to buy brightly coloured and distinctive luggage as this will prevent other passengers from mistaking your bags as theirs and will also deter thieves!
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Useful Contacts and Resources... |
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| Below we have listed some useful links to websites which provide helpful advice if your bags happen to get lost. |
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Helpful Organisations |
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| Provide legal advice on lost luggage and insurance claims. |
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| Provide legal advice on insurance claims related to lost luggage. |
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| Service to trace lost baggage worldwide. |
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| Service which will fly your bags to your destination for a small fee. |
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| Air Transport Users Council |
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