What to do when an airline loses your luggage

Simon Calder on how to avoid a baggage nightmare – and deal with it when one arises

Bag luck: we’ve all been there, but what exactly are our rights? (Getty/iStock)

Agreed, it’s a problem lots of us would like to have right now: that sinking feeling when all the passengers from your flight have collected their bags from reclaim, and it’s just you staring at a scruffy, unloved hold-all that definitely isn’t yours circling endlessly on the carousel.

But when flying for fun becomes feasible once more, an absolute certainty is that airlines will “mishandle” passengers’ bags.

The term covers a range of mishaps, starting with accepting your suitcase at check-in but leaving it behind at the departure airport (this is known as “short-shipping”, even though it is not shipped).

Transfers at hub airports can cause problems, especially when connections are tight.

But sometimes the bag is simply lost in transportation, and ends up in Lagos (code LOS) rather than Los Angeles (LAX).

These scenarios point at the best prevention strategy: don’t check anything in. While there is no absolute guarantee that cabin baggage will survive a journey (theft, especially on overnight flights, occurs worryingly frequently), you are more invested in protecting your possessions than the average baggage handler.

If you have to check bags, then it is worth paying a premium for a direct flight rather than trusting to the transfer system in Amsterdam, Paris or Dubai. In addition, something colourful attached to your bag will reduce the likelihood a fellow traveller will pick it up in error. These steps reduce, but do not eliminate, the risk.

If you are a (temporary) loser, the first step is to go to the desk in the baggage hall and register the loss, completing a Property Irregularity Report (PIR) with the details of your bag and your contact details. You will doubtless be assured by the staff that the vast majority of bags are successfully reunited with their owners.

If you are on an outbound flight, you will doubtless need some essentials to keep you going, and you can enquire if the airline imposes any kind of limit; keeping within it will save hassle later on, but if it is unfeasibly low then you can spend reasonably and hope to recoup the cash.

When more than one airline is involved with your trip, always work with the last in the itinerary.

There is a good chance that you will get a call explaining your bag is en route, and usually get a fairly accurate forecast of when it will be delivered to your hotel or home. But if, after three weeks, there is no sign then you can begin a claim under the Montreal Convention. The upper limit for loss is 1,141 in a curious currency known as a Special Drawing Right – which approximates to £1,250.

Far better, of course, to get it back. Much of the stuff that goes missing completely has labels torn off in the tender care of the baggage system. Make sure that your details are securely taped inside the case – on the assumption that all external clues to your identity will vanish.

And if, after all this, you are longing to track down that priceless heirloom, then you could try the Unclaimed Baggage Centre in Scottsboro, Alabama – probably the most interesting shop in the world.