Lost or Damaged Baggage? The Montreal Convention Pays

EU261 covers delays and cancellations. For baggage — lost, damaged, or delayed — the Montreal Convention (1999) is the treaty that sets the airline's liability on international flights. Most passengers have never heard of it. Airlines are counting on that.

The deadlines (these are strict)

• Damaged baggage: written complaint within 7 days of receiving the bag.
• Delayed baggage: written complaint within 21 days of the bag being returned to you.
• Lost baggage: claim within 2 years, but file the Property Irregularity Report (PIR) at the airport, before you leave.

Liability limits

The Convention caps airline liability per passenger (adjusted for inflation — the limit is periodically revised upward; check the current figure when claiming). Within that cap, you can claim the actual value of lost items and reasonable replacement costs for delayed bags (toiletries, essentials — keep receipts).

What to do at the airport

1. File the PIR before leaving baggage claim. No PIR, no claim — this is the step people skip.
2. Photograph everything — the bag, the damage, the baggage tag.
3. Keep every receipt for essentials you buy while waiting.
4. Write to the airline within the deadline with the PIR reference, an itemized list, and receipts.

Valuables

The standard advice exists for a reason: never check jewelry, electronics, documents, or medication. The Convention's liability cap won't cover a laptop, and "it was in the bag" is hard to prove without photos taken before the trip.