Lost Luggage: Montreal Convention Rules and Claims

When a checked bag does not arrive, the airline’s liability is set by an international treaty, not by its own conditions of carriage. The Montreal Convention, which applies to most international itineraries, caps a carrier’s liability for baggage at 1,288 Special Drawing Rights (SDR) per passenger. That figure is reviewed every five years and was last revised in 2019; it is not a fixed currency amount. The same treaty sets short windows for making a claim: seven days for damage, twenty-one days for delay, counted from the date the bag was placed at the passenger’s disposal. Domestic flights inside the United States are governed instead by the Department of Transportation’s refund rule and the airline’s own contract, which may set a different limit. The first practical step is the same under either regime: report the bag before leaving the airport and keep the paperwork.

The rule that sets the number

The Montreal Convention is the instrument that creates the entitlement. It applies to international carriage, including itineraries with a stop in another country. For baggage, Article 22(2) sets the limit at 1,288 SDR per passenger. SDR is a unit of account defined by the International Monetary Fund; its value in any national currency changes daily. A page that quotes a dollar figure as though it were fixed is quoting a conversion, not the rule. The airline’s liability is also capped per passenger, not per bag, so a passenger travelling with two bags does not get two limits.

For domestic US flights, the DOT refund rule requires a refund of the bag fee if the bag is lost, and the airline’s contract of carriage sets the compensation limit. That limit is often lower than the Montreal figure and is stated in the airline’s own rules. The regime that applies therefore depends on the itinerary, not on the airline’s brand.

What the claim windows mean in practice

The seven-day and twenty-one-day windows are not deadlines for the airline to pay; they are deadlines for the passenger to notify. Under the Montreal Convention, a complaint about damage must be made within seven days of receiving the bag, and a complaint about delay within twenty-one days from the date the bag was placed at the passenger’s disposal. If the bag is never found, the claim is for loss, and the Convention does not set the same short window; the airline’s own conditions usually set a period after which a bag is presumed lost, often 21 days. Missing the notification window can extinguish the claim, so the date the bag was returned or the date it should have been returned should be recorded.

The property irregularity report

The property irregularity report (PIR) is the document that starts the claim. It is filed at the airport, usually at the baggage service desk, before leaving the arrivals area. The PIR number is the reference the airline will use. A copy should be kept, along with the baggage claim tags, the boarding pass, and any receipts for expenses caused by the delay. The airline is obliged to cover reasonable interim expenses while the bag is missing, but what counts as reasonable depends on the airline’s policy and the length of the delay. Receipts are what make the claim verifiable.

What the airline covers in the interim

While a bag is delayed, the airline is generally responsible for reasonable expenses, such as toiletries and clothing. The Montreal Convention does not itemise these; it sets the overall liability limit. The airline may ask for receipts and may set a daily cap in its own policy. Those caps are airline-specific and are not part of the Convention. The passenger should keep every receipt and submit them with the PIR number. If the bag is eventually found and delivered, the claim becomes one for delay, and the twenty-one-day window applies. If it is not found, the claim becomes one for loss, and the 1,288 SDR limit applies.

Worked calculation: converting the SDR limit

The 1,288 SDR figure is not a currency amount. To see what it produces, the SDR value must be converted at the rate on the relevant date. The steps below use a hypothetical rate to show the method; the actual rate changes daily and must be checked.

Step 1: Identify the limit in SDR.
  Limit = 1,288 SDR per passenger (Montreal Convention, Article 22(2)).

Step 2: Find the SDR-to-currency rate for the date of the claim.
  Example rate: 1 SDR = 1.32 USD (hypothetical; check the IMF rate for the actual date).

Step 3: Multiply the limit by the rate.
  1,288 SDR x 1.32 USD/SDR = 1,700.16 USD.

Step 4: Compare with documented losses.
  If documented losses are 2,000 USD, the recoverable amount is capped at 1,700.16 USD.
  If documented losses are 900 USD, the recoverable amount is 900 USD.

The result is a ceiling, not an entitlement. The airline pays the lesser of the documented loss and the converted limit. The conversion rate is the variable that changes the figure, and it changes daily.

What decides the figure

The table below sets out the conditions that change the amount a passenger can recover. The figures themselves are not repeated here because they depend on the date and the regime.

What people get wrong

The most common mistake is to treat the 1,288 SDR figure as a cash amount. It is a unit of account, and its value in dollars, euros or pounds changes daily. A passenger who reads a dollar figure on a blog and expects that exact sum will be disappointed when the airline converts at a different rate. The mistake is natural because most financial figures people encounter are already in a national currency; SDR is not.

A second mistake is to leave the airport without filing a PIR. The report is the evidence that the bag was missing at arrival. Without it, the airline may argue the bag was lost later, outside its custody. The mistake is natural because the arrivals area is busy and the passenger may assume the bag will turn up on the next flight. Filing the PIR takes minutes and preserves the claim.

A third mistake is to miss the seven-day window for damage. A cracked suitcase may seem minor at the time, and the passenger may plan to report it later. By the time the damage is reported, the window may have closed. The mistake is natural because the damage is noticed after the passenger has left the airport and the urgency is not obvious.

A fourth mistake is to assume the airline will pay the full limit automatically. The limit is a ceiling; the airline pays the documented loss up to that ceiling. Receipts, valuations and proof of ownership are what turn a ceiling into a payment.

Steps after a bag does not arrive

1. File a PIR at the baggage service desk before leaving the arrivals area. Keep the PIR number.
2. Keep the baggage claim tags, boarding pass and any receipts for interim expenses.
3. Send a written claim to the airline within the applicable window: seven days for damage, twenty-one days for delay. For loss, check the airline’s conditions for the presumption-of-loss period.
4. State the documented loss and attach receipts. The airline pays the lesser of the documented loss and the converted SDR limit.
5. If the airline rejects the claim, the passenger can escalate to the national enforcement body for the country where the flight departed or arrived. In the US, that is the Department of Transportation.

The SDR conversion caveat

Any page that quotes a dollar figure for the Montreal Convention limit is quoting a conversion at a particular date. The rule itself is in SDR. The IMF publishes the rate daily, and the airline will use the rate on the date it settles the claim. The figure a passenger can recover is therefore the documented loss, capped at 1,288 SDR converted at the settlement date rate. The only fixed number is 1,288 SDR; everything else is conditional.

When the bag is damaged

Damage claims follow the same procedure but with a shorter window. The PIR should be filed at the airport if the damage is visible, or the damage should be reported to the airline within seven days of receiving the bag. Photographs of the damage, the bag’s original condition if available, and the receipt for the bag or a valuation are the evidence. The airline may repair the bag, replace it, or pay the documented loss up to the limit. The choice is usually the airline’s, under its conditions of carriage.

When the bag is delayed

Delay claims cover reasonable interim expenses. The twenty-one-day window runs from the date the bag was placed at the passenger’s disposal. The airline may set a daily cap on interim expenses in its own policy; that cap is not part of the Montreal Convention. Receipts are required. If the bag is never found, the claim converts to loss, and the 1,288 SDR limit applies.

What the airline page will not say

The airline’s own page will state its liability limit and its claim procedure. It is less likely to state that the limit is set by an international treaty, that the treaty figure is in SDR and changes daily, or that the claim windows are short and can extinguish the claim. It is also unlikely to state that the passenger can escalate to a national enforcement body. Those are the parts that matter when a bag does not arrive.