Delayed baggage: what you can claim, and how
Updated
General information, not legal advice. The outcome depends on the facts of your case.
Your bag didn't come off the belt, and the first days of the trip went on buying a toothbrush and a change of clothes. The airline usually has to pay for that. Here is what the rules say, what you can claim and how to do it in time.
The rules in one minute
- No fixed sum. EU261, the rule behind the €250 to €600 for late flights, does not cover bags. Bags fall under the Montreal Convention, and EU law applies it to every flight of an EU airline, domestic ones too.
- The airline pays for the damage the delay caused you (article 19), such as necessary purchases. It escapes only if it shows it took all reasonable measures to avoid the delay, or that this was impossible. The European Consumer Centre in Finland says weather, security risks or strikes usually do that. A bag left behind at a transfer usually does not.
- Limit: 1,519 SDR per passenger, about €1,836 (article 22(2)). Delay, loss and damage share that one cap. It is a maximum, not a sum you get automatically: you are paid what you can show.
- Deadline: a written claim within 21 days of getting the bag back (article 31). Miss it and the claim is gone, unless the airline acted fraudulently.
Your deadlines
Counted from the dates you enter. Claim as early as you can. You don't have to wait for the bag.
You don't have to wait for the bag. The EU Court has said a delay claim can be sent before the bag is returned (C-292/24 Iberia, 2025). The 21 days are the last chance, not the starting point.
Step by step
- Report it at the airport. The baggage desk opens a file, the PIR (Property Irregularity Report), with a reference number. Keep your copy.
- Keep every receipt for what you buy while you wait.
- Send a written claim as soon as you can, and within 21 days of getting the bag. Use the airline's online form or email. Give the PIR number, list what you bought and attach the receipts. Keep a dated copy.
- Ask for an answer within a set time, for example 30 days, and give your bank details for the payment.
- If the airline refuses or pays too little, take it to the complaint body (see below).
Does the PIR already count as your written claim? The EU Court accepted a complaint recorded in the airline's own system (C-258/16 Finnair, 2018), and Sweden's ARN found a PIR enough and an airline term asking for more void (ARN 2019-17639). Send your own written claim anyway. It costs nothing and removes the argument.
What you can claim
- Necessary purchases: toiletries, underwear, a change of clothes, a charger, what you need for the purpose of the trip. ECC Finland says the purchases must be really necessary and you must keep the costs down.
- Reasonable transport to go and buy them.
- Clothes you keep: expect the airline to argue about the full price, because you keep the items.
- Inconvenience: the EU Court has said "damage" includes non-material damage, within the same cap (C-63/09 Walz). In practice, purchases are what gets paid.
On the return trip it is harder. You are home with your own things, so ECC Finland says compensation is rarely justified. Claim only real costs.
No receipt?
List each item with the date and the price. Back it up with a card statement, an order email or a photo. The airline will usually ask for proof.
Which airline to claim from
On one booking with several airlines, you can claim from the first airline, the last one (the one that should have delivered the bag) or the one on whose flight the delay happened (article 36(3)). They are liable together. Pick the one that is easiest for you. Often that is an airline from your own country, because your national complaint body can then take the case directly.
On separate bookings, claim from the airline of the booking your bag travelled on.
Travel insurance
Many travel and home insurance policies, and some payment cards, pay a fixed sum when the bag is late on the outbound trip. You can claim from both the insurer and the airline, but you can't be paid twice for the same cost. Insurance usually does not pay for a delay on the return trip.
If the airline says no: where to complain
- Finland: the consumer disputes board (KRIL) takes baggage claims, free of charge. A baggage claim on its own must be in Finnish or Swedish. For a foreign airline, contact the European Consumer Centre first.
- Sweden: ARN takes lost and delayed bags. The fee is 150 kr and is not refunded. For travel disputes, ARN's lower limit is 1,000 kr.
- Denmark: Trafikstyrelsen does not handle bags. Nævnenes Hus does, but only against companies registered in Denmark, and it charges a fee that you get back if you win. For a foreign airline, use Forbruger Europa.
- Norway: Transportklagenemnda, free. It decided 180 baggage cases in 2025, up from 29 in 2021. File within a year of your written claim to the airline.
- United Kingdom: AviationADR or CEDR, depending on which scheme the airline belongs to. Bags are covered and it is free for passengers. You can go there after the airline's final answer or after 8 weeks.
- Germany: the Schlichtungsstelle Reise & Verkehr (formerly söp) for member airlines, otherwise the conciliation body at the Federal Office of Justice (BfJ). Free, for claims from €10 to €5,000.
- Spain: AESA does not take baggage claims. Use the European Consumer Centre for a foreign airline, or the commercial court (Juzgado de lo Mercantil).
- Elsewhere in the EU: against an airline from another EU or EEA country, the European Consumer Centre in your country helps for free.
Court is the last step. You have 2 years from the day the flight arrived (article 35).
In the Nordics these are mostly the same bodies that handle flight delays. See the Nordic complaint boards.
FAQ
How much do airlines pay for a delayed bag?
There is no fixed amount. You get your necessary costs, up to about €1,836 per passenger. A daily amount an airline offers is its own policy, not the legal limit.
My bag came two hours late. Can I claim?
Only for real costs. If you didn't have to buy anything, there is little to claim.
My flight was late too. Is that a separate claim?
Yes. A flight that arrived 3 hours or more late can give EU261 compensation on top of the bag claim. See how to claim flight compensation.