Even though the chances of your luggage being lost or delayed are less than one percent, it happens to people every day. It could certainly happen to you.
I had my own suitcase delayed two years ago during a 3-week trip to China. Fortunately, it happened on the way back. Eventually, my suitcase was returned in three days with everything intact. And though I was lucky, the process of losing your belongings and tracking them down is still deeply frustrating.
At that time I couldn’t find a good guide on lost luggage, so I decided to research it myself. Questions such as, how long does it take to recover lost luggage? How are you reimbursed if you can’t? and more. Below is a comprehensive guide to what I found.
How Long Does It Take to Find Lost Luggage?
According to a study made by the Association of European Airlines around 85% of lost luggage is found and delivered within two days. However, this number has been decreasing over the years. Now it’s closer to 36 hours. So most likely you’re about to receive your bag in a day or two.
In 47% of the lost luggage cases, they’re lost due to mishandling. Sometimes when you’re flying with connections and the layover time is 90 minutes or less, you make it on time, but your luggage doesn’t. If you’re quick about filing your claim and the suitcase is found immediately, you could receive your case in just a few hours.
In other cases, luggage is found after just a few days or even weeks. There are many potential reasons why the waiting time is so long. For instance; the labels could have come off, or it may have been sent to the wrong country, or even stolen by someone at the airport.
But don’t worry. Only 7% of the total lost luggage claims result in the luggage being lost completely. If that’s the case, the suitcase is considered lost only after 14 or 21 days, depending on your airline carrier.
What to Do If Your Luggage Is Lost
To increase your chances of finding your case, here’s what you should do:
- If you fail to find your luggage on the conveyer belt upon arrival, immediately go to the luggage office or baggage claim desk. It should be somewhere near the baggage claim, just ask the nearby staff. Make sure to do this before leaving the baggage claim.
- When you’re at the desk, try to be understanding. The staff deal with this all the time and you being irritating will make things worse.
- Fill out the lost baggage claim, describing the content of the lost baggage and all of its features.
- Try to describe your case as best as you can, as this dramatically increases the chances of finding your luggage. In the case that travel tags have been torn off, the only way to identify your case is by its features and content. Thankfully nowadays, the airport systems are pretty advanced. All found luggage is immediately placed in a database. Their software then sorts through the database and locates your suitcase based on the description.
- Most likely you will be given instructions on how to check your luggage status online. Make sure to get the responsible departments number, so later you can contact someone if there isn’t any news.
What to Do If Your Luggage Is Delayed
In this situation, the first step is to get confirmation. As in the case of lost luggage, I’d recommend enquiring at the luggage office/baggage claim desk or, if you can’t find that, go to the nearest help desk for further assistance. You should be able to pick up a Property Irregularity Report (PIR) confirming the luggage delay. Don’t forget this! A PIR may be essential if you want to claim compensation.
In some situations, travelers will have these situations handled by a tour operator/travel agent. Go with what works best for your situation.
Eventually, your luggage will be returned to you. Should you successfully claim compensation, you’ll want an official record of the delay length as this will inform the compensation amount. Make sure you get a second report with these details.
When filing the initial report, make sure to ask the staff what compensation you are entitled to. Many airlines will offer “overnight kits” with amenities including toothbrushes, towels, etc. In some cases they will simply compensate you for any ‘comforts’ you need to buy, so make sure to save your receipts!
What to Do If Your Luggage Is Damaged
Maybe you do retrieve your luggage on-arrival, but you notice some scuffs or tears that weren’t there previously. Maybe there’s some damage to the frame, wheels or handles. What’s your next step?
First, you’ll want to take note of the damage done before you take any action. Many airlines don’t provide cover for what might be considered “normal wear and tear”. Aesthetic effects such as marks and stains, scuffed corners and dents to the frame or wheels will in most cases not be a valid cause for filing a claim. This is regardless of how new or expensive your luggage is.
For significant damage (anything that makes your baggage unfit for travel purposes), every airline is obligated to repair, replace or reimburse your luggage. File a claim at the baggage office, and staff will take matters from there.
Keep in mind this only applies to your luggage case! Airports currently hold no liability for broken or damaged items that are inside. So if you’re bringing home a few fragile souvenirs, make sure they’re packed carefully. Or better yet – keep them in your carry-on instead.
What to Do If Your Luggage Is Stolen
Stolen airport luggage is an extremely rare occurrence, but it does happen. In a situation where you believe your luggage is stolen, first take a deep breath. Remember that the simplest explanation is usually the correct one. It’s far likelier that your luggage has been delayed or misplaced. Airlines tend to have efficient, streamlined technology for tracking all passenger luggage, so they will be able to confirm this for you.
In either case, gather as many necessary details as you can. The airline will want your flight and luggage number, departure and arrival times (as well as any layovers) and specific details about the luggage that has been lost or stolen.
In the case that your luggage has been stolen, you should contact both the airline and the nearest local authorities. While it’s no given that the police will find the perp or your belongings, some airlines may only take your claim seriously if you have filed a police report.
Once you’ve filed your report, the ensuing steps and compensation amounts will vary airline to airline. Unfortunately, many airlines require purchase receipts as evidence of lost items, so be prepared to follow your paper trails if you want full compensation.
How to Get Reimbursed for Lost Luggage
In the U.S, 87% of travelers do not file a claim when their luggage is either lost, damaged or stolen. Remember if any of these things have happened to you, you have the legal right to get reimbursement for potential damages.
Now first of all, if you haven’t received your luggage, don’t leave the airport before contacting the airport staff first and filing a claim. Make sure to fill out your PIR in full, carefully stating all of the contents in your bag. When finished, make sure to get a copy as well as your baggage tag number. After filing the claim enquire about an overnight kit.
Next, ask if the airline offers any reimbursements for the costs of necessary essentials. If that’s the case, make sure to ask the maximum that you can spend, and the airline will refund you the total amount. However, be sure to do this in a written format by writing an official complaint about reimbursements for additional expenses due to lost luggage.
If you have a credit card with insurance, get in contact with your bank. Most banks offer some kind of insurance for lost and delayed baggage to their clients.
If your luggage still isn’t found after 21 days, it will officially be declared lost. In this case, you might get a reimbursement of up to 3500$, depending on the country you’ve arrived in.
The Compensation Amounts for Lost, Damaged, and Delayed Luggage
If your luggage was delayed or lost, you could be compensated for your losses. Just make sure to file the claim in:
- Damaged luggage: 7 days;
- Missing or damaged contents: 7 days;
- Delayed or lost luggage: 21 days.
The amount of compensation depends on your destination:
- If you’re flying to Europe, flying from Europe or within Europe, in case of delayed luggage you can get compensation of up to 1300 EUR;
- If you’re flying domestic, you can get compensation for delayed luggage of up to 3500$.
Other tips about getting reimbursed for lost luggage:
- Expect to receive less than the maximum reimbursement. Airlines usually know the average value of each case and are hesitant to pay more;
- You will get compensated only if you have receipts. Even if you had a five-year-old camera in there, you still need the receipt to get the reimbursement. (Although some airlines don’t ask this for smaller, regular items);
- Even if you have a receipt, airlines won’t compensate for the full value. Rather, they value everything as used. For instance, if you bought a suit for 300$ two days ago, you would get back around 150$;
- Airlines won’t reimburse for anything valuable, fragile or perishable.
How to Prevent Losing Luggage in the Future
If you’re concerned about losing luggage in the future, there are a number of precautions you can take to downplay a frustrating situation.
Studies have shown that most commonly luggage is lost due to connecting layovers with short timeframes in between. It makes sense, as during a rush the airline staff often cannot load every case before take-off. So how do you avoid this? When booking layovers, make sure that the gap between your flights is at least 90 minutes.
Late check-ins are another reason for luggage delay. It’s advised to take your bags to check-in at least 90 minutes before departure.
And lastly, one really common reason why luggage is lost is because there are people who like to “collect” the airport stickers/labels on their luggage. It’s really hard for baggage handlers to find the right label if you have ten different ones stuck to your bag, so always make sure to remove the old stickers before checking in.
Here are some other things that you could do to prevent your luggage from getting lost in the future:
- Use a luggage tag with your name, surname, e-mail, and phone number.
- Secure loose straps and other elements, as this increases the chances of it falling off the conveyor belts.
- Purchase a bright and unique colored case that stands out and is descriptive.
- Keep your valuables in your carry-on. It decreases the chances of your luggage being stolen.
What Do Airports Do With Lost Luggage?
If your luggage is unclaimed, it will be sold at auction. Though it’s easy to be pessimistic, airlines do a lot to ensure that your luggage is retrieved. Mainly because they’re losing money on lost luggage, due to the reimbursements being higher than the auction prices.
However, they don’t sell it right away. Usually, your suitcase will sit at the terminal for around five days. During this time your bag is checked for any clues of its owner. If no owner is found, it’s shipped to a warehouse where it stays for about 60 days. After that, it’s sold to an auction house.
If you lose your luggage, you can receive up to 3500$ in reimbursements from the responsible airline. Usually, the luggage at auctions is sold for nothing close to this amount, which results in huge losses for airline companies.
What’s more, not all of the airline companies sell your unclaimed luggage to auction houses. Some of them donate everything to charities, and some sell all of it in bulk to their partners: Companies that later resell each item separately.
Global Statistics About Lost Luggage
According to a SITA study published in 2017, around 5.73 bags were lost out of every 1000 passengers in 2016. This percentage has been decreasing yearly, with 18.88 bags lost for every 1000 passengers in 2007. That’s nearly a 70% drop in lost luggage in the last nine years.
How much does this correlate in dollars? Since 2007 the total passenger count has increased by a third, yet lost luggage has decreased by half. This resulted in savings of $2billion for the luggage industry.
SITA has stated that this decrease in lost luggage is mostly due to new technologies and process improvements by airlines and airports all over the world.
From the total misplaced luggage, around 47% was due to short timeframes between connecting flights. Failure to load the bags comes in second with 16%, followed by ticketing error (15%). The rest include bad weather, weight restrictions, customs, arrival mishandling, tagging errors and loading errors.
Out of all the lost luggage claims, only 7% end up totally lost and never to be seen again. In total, the chances of you losing your luggage completely are around 1 in 2500.
The Worst Airlines for Lost Luggage
Although the chances of you losing luggage are pretty slim, some airlines are much more dependent than others when it comes to losing luggage. If you’re checking your bag, hopefully not at Envoy air, as they’re placed last in a list of twelve popular airlines.
LLuggageHero compared the statistics of twelve popular airlines and the results were spectacular. It seems that some airlines are more than three times likely to lose your bags than others. Some of the worst airlines that are known for losing luggage include Envoy Air, ExpressJet Airlines and Skywest Airlines. However, you can be pretty confident with the top three on this list: Delta Airlines, Spirit Airlines, and JetBlue.
Out of the 12 airlines, on average Delta Airlines mishandled 1.55 out of every 1000 bags, which is the best result. On the other hand, Envoy Air mishandled 6.76 bags out of every 1000. But if you compare these results to the industry average, which is 5.73 out of every 1000 bags, even Envoy Air is not that far off the industry average.
What’s the takeaway? Out of the twelve popular airlines, almost all of them lose less luggage than the industry average. If you’re flying with an unpopular airline, your chances are much slimmer. However, out of those twelve airlines, Envoy Air, ExpressJet Airlines, and Skywest Airlines performed the worst.
The Worst Airports for Lost Luggage and Baggage Theft
Santorini Thira International Airport, Greece:
Unfortunately, despite its stunning beauty, the airport of this famous island is well known for being a difficult entrance and departure point for travelers. Santorini’s facilities are often thought to be near-unsustainable due to their size and capabilities comparable to the staggering number of tourists who visit throughout the year. Luggage carousels here are frequently chaotic, and as a result, delayed and lost luggage is often reported.
John F Kennedy International Airport, NY, USA:
This airport has long-held the record of most thefts in the United States. Thousands of lost and stolen baggage claims have been made over the years, with reports from 2012 stating that the airport sees as much as 200 cases of theft per day. If you’re flying into JFK in the future, don’t forget to implement our prevention tips mentioned above.
Juba International Airport, Sudan:
It may not be your typical travel destination, but just in case you’re thinking of making the trip, it may be worth knowing that Juba International is considered one of the worst airports in the world all round. With a high number of reported complaints regarding facilities (tents are often used in place of terminals) and dangerous infrastructure, it’s no surprise that your luggage may not be the safest at this airport. Juba is certainly an airport you want to travel to armed with an extra overnight bag and your travel insurance.
Heathrow Airport, London, England:
Like New York, London is a thriving metropolis with some of the highest numbers of travelers entering daily in the world. As a result Heathrow, the city’s busiest airport, has the highest number of luggage issues and tribulations reported than any other airport in the UK.
These are just a few airports that have a high number of lost or stolen luggage claims and reports. Here are a few more that may be worth researching if you are traveling to these countries:
- Islamabad Benazir Bhutto International Airport, Pakistan
- Los Angeles Airport, Los Angeles, USA
- Caracas Simón Bolívar International Airport, Venezuela
- Luton International, London, England
- Madrid-Barajas Adolfo Suárez Airport, Madrid, Spain
Hi, I am going through a terrible time regarding my delayed/lost luggage. I suspect it is on account of the last sub point written on your blog because of the contradicting answers being given. Tomorrow will be the 5th day. Airline told me to wait till tomorrow.
I will want you and your friend’s help in spreading my message on this Airline by spreading this story on social media everywhere. Have never been so annoyed and irritated.
I assure my whole story is genuine and honest. It is Kuwait Airlines and the mess is in Kuwait Airport. There are 2 articles on theft by handlers in 2018 that I read after this incident. Now I am on a mission to make their life a living hell.
I’m sorry to hear that, Ashwin.
It happens everywhere, but a quick Google search revealed that stolen and lost luggage is especially common in Kuwait Airlines. That’s just something that you have to deal with when traveling outside of the USA, Europe, or other developed countries.
If you’ve already filed the claim, at this point, there is really nothing else you can do but wait. After 21 days your luggage should be considered lost, and only then you should ask them for any reimbursements. In my own opinion, the best thing that you could do is contact intermediaries, who deal with the claims and possible lawsuits themselves and ask them for advice. (For instance, https://www.populetic.com/en/claim-kuwait-airways/luggage-compensation-kuwait-airways.php) They’ll likely know the local regulations better and can explain what’s the best course of action here.
And unfortunately, our site doesn’t report news or anything like that. Instead, we post only guides, how-to’s, and other informational articles that people who are interested in traveling would find useful. So, unfortunately, we can’t help you out with spreading the message.
Good luck with your lost luggage!
I was supposed to be celebrating my 60th birthday and going on a holiday of a lifetime to Las Vegas in April this year via Thomas cook with connecting flight from Edinburgh via Manchester where our first flight was delayed so our cases were not put on our connecting flight ? we were 4 days without our suitcases with nothing but the clothes we were wearing. Thomas cook were absolutely no help whatsoever nor have they offered any compensation only an apology ?? our 8 day holiday was ruined for the 1st 4 days due to stress and no appropriate clothing other than the small amount we purchased at the hotel. We even had to get taxis to and from the airport at our own cost to pick up our lost luggage – an absolute disgrace! You get compensated for a 3 hour delay but nothing could ever compensate for our list 4 days …….
I hate my life right ……
From all of the websites, I found out that most of the people lose their stuff inside the airport, but what they didn’t know that you could lose your luggage on your way home….Yes, I said on your way home….
So here how it happend….
After my brother have picked me up from the airport, on our way to my house, he told me to tell my parents that he have to go do somthing, so he will probably be back after an hour, when he parked he told me to take out my bag, but I told him I will pick it up after I say hi to my parents, since my mother was waiting on me in front of the house, but he insisted on getting it out of his truck, and I was like “yeah whatever” So I went to my mother and I hugged her and stuff and I entered the house, I didnt know that my bag was in the middle of the street….. MY DONKEY BROTHER LEFT MY LUGGAGE IN THE MIDDLE OF THE STREET AND DROVE AWAY WITHOUT TAKING MY STUFF IN THE HOUSE….
I’m sorry brother, but how in the whole universe you can be that stupid????????????….I know that he is my brother and all, but COME ONNN you just left it in the middle of the street?? JUST LIKE THAT??????
I have so much stuff in My luggage, Watches, parfumes, make up for my mother, and a lot of good clothes, expensive shoes and finally, I had a playstation console…
I have just arrived, I was so happy, and then less than an hour, the whole world turned upside down….
And now everytime I see my brother, I just remeber the incident, I love my brother, but same time, I hate him for his stupidity….
What I have learned, (DONT LET ANYONE TOUCH YOUR STUFF) PERIOD
I’m sorry to hear that. Never heard anyone losing their luggage like that.
But I’m sure he learned his lesson. He probably didn’t mean it and it was just a mistake.
And I completely agree with you – It’s probably a smarter choice to not trust anyone with stuff that you care about.
My luggage hasnt arrived from Sri Lankan airlines. I left dublin and the bag never did. And now they don’t know where my bag is. I had a layover in London Heathrow and the bag disappeared. How does that happen in a high security facility?
And they have been rude about helping me. I have had to ring all the airports looking for it. Everyday and I am disappointed with Sri Lankan airlines. No help and they don’t care.
I don’t know what to do.
Could anyone help.
Day 7 of a 3 wk holiday. ?
Sorry for the late reply,
Hope you’ve got everything sorted by now.
Your luggage will be considered lost only after 21 days, so you really can’t do anything now. You’ve probably already filed the lost luggage claim at the airport, but if not, make sure to file it immediately.
If you’d rather not deal with the airline yourself, you can use a broker to do it for you. For a small fee, they’ll maximize the reimbursements, do all the paperwork, and tell you exactly what you need to do. A good one is Airhelp: https://www.airhelp.com/en-int/lost-or-delayed-luggage/
American Airlines lost my luggage over 1 month ago by putting the my name tag on someone elses luggage. Big mistake American Airlines. Everytime they called me it was another story they told me. I’ve never been more disgusted, frustrated, upset, annoyed and angry with an airline.
I’m sorry to hear that, Lois.
Hope everything’s resolved now!
I had a flight yesterday from Athens to Tirana and i checked my bad really early and as it was going through the tag got ripped but stayed there i went immediately to the front desk and ask them to check and they said that everything was fine. I asked again even when i was about to board the plain. I land and i receive an email from the airline that my baggage was delayed. Now i don’t know what to do
Well, if it’s delayed, you can ask the airline what’s their policy on refunding necessary items that you might have in the delayed baggage. Most airlines will refund you up to a certain sum for toiletries, fresh clothes, medicine, e.t.c. if you keep the receipts.
For instance, American Airlines reimburses all necessary items within a 45 day period, as said on this page under “Reimbursements”: https://www.aa.com/i18n/travel-info/baggage/delayed-or-damaged-baggage.jsp
Also, make sure to file a lost baggage claim with the airline ASAP, because a phone call or an email is not enough. Legally, it’s called a ” Property Irregularity Report.” If they’re saying that your luggage is only delayed, you’ll probably receive it soon. But if it eventually gets lost, you’ll need the lost luggage claim to get reimbursed after 21 days.
Good luck!
So I decided to go visit my boyfriend in thunderbay Ontario and I’m from Pickering Ajax Ontario. Had a great weekend I checked my bags into oversized. On my flight back I’m waiting to pick up my stuff and my bag never arrived, apparently they put it on the wrong plane due to MISHANDLING ? this happened last night and I’m praying they find it soon. I have medication that I’m supposed to take and don’t have it. 🙁 i hope they find it quick
Sorry to hear that.
I’ve had that happen once as well, but it happened because my return flight was delayed. Got it back after around three days, everything intact. They even delivered it to my house.
As for the medication – If it’s expensive, you could ask them to reimburse for new medication. According to the article below, the airline is responsible for any additional costs you have because of the delayed bag. https://www.transportation.gov/lost-delayed-or-damaged-baggage (Check under “Delayed baggage”)
I just lost my luggage at Frankfurt airport yesterday and I have been looking for it for 2 days now. Thai Airways or Fraport could not confirm with me that they have received my luggage. I couldn’t see it at the baggage reclaim belt and I suspect someone might have steal it.
Is there any suggestions so I can hear anything from them faster ?
I have already made a police report and now I also waiting for the police to give me update.
Hi, Jannie.
I’m sorry to hear that.
I hope you already filed the lost luggage claim. Essentially, that’s all you can really do. Just file the claim, wait for 7-30 days until your luggage is officially considered lost (it depends on the country/airline), and get reimbursed if it isn’t found in that timeframe. Even if somebody stole it at the carousel, it’s still considered lost, not stolen, because you didn’t receive it in the first place, so the airline is responsible for reimbursing you.
You really can’t do anything to speed up the process. At this point, you just have to wait until you hear anything from the Police or the airline.
Hi Oscar,
I found this page amazing… really helpful
so, I left London Heathrow to Belo Horizonte Brazil via Lisbon with TAP AIR PORTUGAL on 27 october 19 my connection in lisbon to Belo horizonte was only 1 hour.
when we landed at Belo Horizonte CNF airpot my suitcase never came, I did filed up the claims for my lost luggage, so I’ve been called then every day plus checking on line the progress with it, so im really stressful coz im came to Belo horizonte to visit my family, all the gifts and my suff is the lost luggage so right now its 6 days and still no sign of my luggage , TAP contact me saying that they go to search for what i have in side the luggage coz the couldn’t find it. Oscar do you think they will find my luggage? im really sad coz TAP unfortunately has destroyed my holidays here in Brazil, so im going back to london next week, could u please help on my rights in the uk, should i hire a solicitor in london in case my luggage hasn’t found until next week!
thanks sooo much oscar,
Hi Luiz,
I’m sorry to hear that. If you’ve already filed the lost luggage claim, all you can do now is wait. If your luggage still isn’t found after 21 days, you’re entitled to a reimbursement.
You can find more information about lost luggage in the UK in this article: https://www.citizensadvice.org.uk/consumer/holiday-cancellations-and-compensation/get-airline-compensation-for-lost-or-delayed-luggage/
Hi Oscar,
Thanks a lot for ur reply. I got phone call yesterday from “tap” air portugal staff saying they found my luggage and going to be delivered today 09/11 the funny thing is my holiday has finish and Im back to london on monday 11/11, TAP really has destroyed my holiday.
im thinking to claim some compensation from them, coz i have had spent all my holidays without my clothes and personal things.
from 27/10 to 09/11 (13 days ) of stress and not enjoying my holiday at all.
Once again Oscar thanks a lot,
have a wonderful weekend
Glad to hear that they found your luggage!
You’re entitled for a compensation for all the items that you purchased because your luggage was delayed, such as toiletries, spare clothing, medication, e.t.c. TAP probaby won’t willingly tell you this, but those are your rights. Of course, you’ll need receipts for all the items you purchased.
But yeah, I totally agree that this sucks. Essentially, airlines can delay your luggage for 21 days, and get away with it, even if that kind of ruins your vacation. That’s why in future, try packing all the valuables, gifts, and other necessary items in your carry-on or personal item. 😉
Thanks, you too!
Hi Oscar, my family travelled on a one hour flight on EasyJet airlines from London Luton airport to Zurich Switzerland airport. We had taken only one check-in bag with us. When we arrived on January 1st, we found out that the bag did not arrive at the Zurich airport. It has been 7 days now, and the bag has still not been found; they have transferred the task of finding the bag to EasyJet’s central baggage team. I do not understand how a bag could have been lost in a short one hour flight with no connections or prior transfers. Do you think that the bag will be found? Thanks.
Hi Oscar,
thanks for creating this page! Its wonderful!
So i was coming home to London on the 7th of Jan 2020 and one of my bags got delayed. I was coming from Larnaca, connecting through Vienna, on business class. This bag was around 31. kgs ( which was within my allowance) Now i have ALL my clothes in it, fresh virgin olive oil, 5 kgs of lemons (my grandma’s idea) and about 3k worth of jewelry (not my brightest idea I KNOW), my wallet that has all my cards and drivier’s licence and what not . Its only been a day and a half but im worried i wont get my stuff back – most of the jewelry is of sentimental value and nearly half my clothes are brand new 🙁
I made the delayed claim at LHR and they promised they would get the bag – just said that it should be with in the next couple of days – do you know if they are any good at keeping their promise? Im super worried 🙁
Sorry for the late reply, Anita. I was traveling myself!
Most likely you’ve already received your luggage, and I really hope that you have. Woah. 3k worth of jewelry in checked luggage? Next time, definitely pack all of your valuables in your hand luggage. I hope that you received everything as is, and nothing was stolen.
You did the right thing filing the claim straight away. In those situations, unfortunately, you’re mostly left at the mercy of the airline employees. In this case, if your suitcase would get lost completely, you’d have to show some proof of the stuff that you had in there, such as receipts for all the jewelry.
And as for your question, if an airline employee says that your bag is located and should be sent to you in the following days, usually they aren’t lying. You should be worried only if the airline has no idea where your bag is.