Finnair delayed your bag: how to claim
Updated
General information, not legal advice. The outcome depends on the facts of your case.
Your Finnair flight landed and your bag didn't. Most bags turn up within a day or two, but you still had to buy what you needed. Finnair has to pay necessary costs caused by the delay. Here is how to claim it, and what to do if the answer is no or too little.
What Finnair says it pays
Finnair's own help page says it pays reasonable costs for necessary items bought during the trip, and asks for the receipts within 21 days. That matches the law:
- Article 19 of the Montreal Convention: the airline pays the damage caused by the delay of your bag, unless it shows it took all reasonable measures to avoid it, or could not.
- Article 22(2): up to 1,519 SDR per passenger, about €1,836. It is a maximum, not a fixed sum.
- Article 31: a written claim within 21 days of getting the bag back. For damage, 7 days.
EU261, which gives €250 to €600 for a late flight, does not cover bags.
Your deadlines
Counted from the dates you enter. Claim as early as you can. You don't have to wait for the bag.
You can claim before the bag comes back. The EU Court said so in 2025 (C-292/24): the 21 days are the latest date, not the earliest.
How to claim
- Report the bag at the airport and keep the PIR (Property Irregularity Report) number.
- Keep every receipt for what you buy.
- Use Finnair's online baggage form, or write to Finnair, within 21 days. Give the PIR number and flight, list each purchase with its price, and attach the receipts.
- Keep a copy that shows the date.
Does the PIR count as a written claim?
It was a Finnair case that settled this. In Finnair v Fennia (C-258/16, 2018) the EU Court accepted a complaint recorded in the airline's own system as the written notice the Convention asks for, and the Finnish Supreme Court applied it (KKO 2018:79). Still, send your own written claim with the receipts. It is simple and leaves nothing to argue about.
What counts as necessary
- Toiletries, underwear, a change of clothes, a phone charger.
- Things you need for the purpose of the trip, such as clothes for a meeting.
- Reasonable transport to buy them.
Buy what you need while you wait, not what you would like. The European Consumer Centre in Finland says purchases must be really necessary and the passenger must keep costs down. On a return flight, when you are home with your own things, it says compensation is rarely justified.
No receipt? List the item, the date and the price, and add a card statement or order email.
Connections on one booking
If the bag went missing on a connection, for example Finnair to Madrid and Iberia onward, and it was one booking, you can claim from the first airline, the last one or the one where it happened (article 36(3)). If you live in Finland, claiming from Finnair is usually the simpler route. See the Iberia guide for that example.
If Finnair refuses or pays too little
- You live in Finland: take it to the consumer disputes board (KRIL). It is free. A baggage claim on its own must be in Finnish or Swedish. KRIL's decisions are recommendations. Expect a long wait: travel cases have taken about 17 months.
- Sweden: ARN, 150 kr fee, lower limit 1,000 kr for travel disputes.
- Norway: Transportklagenemnda, free, within a year of your written claim.
- Denmark: Trafikstyrelsen does not handle bags. Nævnenes Hus takes cases only against companies registered in Denmark, so for Finnair use Forbruger Europa.
- United Kingdom: AviationADR or CEDR, depending on the airline's scheme, after a final answer or 8 weeks.
- Germany: the Schlichtungsstelle Reise & Verkehr or the conciliation body at the Federal Office of Justice, free, claims from €10 to €5,000.
- Spain: AESA does not take bags. Use the European Consumer Centre.
The court deadline is 2 years from the day the flight arrived.
Had a Finnair claim for a late or cancelled flight rejected as well? That is a different claim. See Finnair rejected your compensation and the Nordic complaint boards.
Insurance
Your travel insurance or payment card may pay a fixed sum for a delayed bag on the outbound trip. You can claim from Finnair and the insurer, but not be paid twice for the same cost.
FAQ
How long does Finnair take to answer?
We don't know of a published time. Ask for an answer within 30 days in your claim and keep the date you sent it.
Can I claim for the time I lost?
"Damage" includes non-material damage within the same limit (C-63/09 Walz), but boards rarely pay much for it. Your receipts are what counts.