SAS lost your bag: how to claim

Updated 18 October 2026
General information, not legal advice. The outcome depends on the facts of your case.

Your bag never arrived after an SAS flight, or it has been missing for weeks. A lost bag is rare, a few per cent of mishandled bags, but it is the one that costs the most. Here is when a bag counts as lost, what you can claim and where to go if SAS says no.

When a bag counts as lost

Under the Montreal Convention, a checked bag counts as lost when the airline admits it is lost, or when it has not arrived 21 days after it should have (article 17(3)). From then on you can claim for the bag and what was in it.

Until then it is a delayed bag. Claim your necessary purchases during the wait at once, in writing. You don't have to wait for the bag to come back to do that (EU Court, C-292/24, 2025).

Your deadlines

Day the flight landed Day you got the bag back (leave empty if it's still missing)

Counted from the dates you enter. Claim as early as you can. You don't have to wait for the bag.

• Lost bag: the Convention sets no written deadline for loss. Many airlines' conditions ask for a lost-bag claim within 21 days, so don't wait: claim as soon as the 21 days have passed, or sooner.
• If the bag turns up after all: a delay claim within 21 days and a damage complaint within 7 days of getting it.
• Court: 2 years from the day the flight arrived (article 35).

How much you can get

• Up to 1,519 SDR per passenger, about €1,836 (article 22(2)). This is a maximum. The EU Court has said it is not a flat sum for a lost bag (C-86/19 Vueling, 2020): you get what you can show the contents were worth.
• Per passenger, not per bag. If your things were in your partner's case, you can still claim your own limit (C-410/11, 2012). A family sharing two suitcases has one limit each.
• Higher only with a special declaration of the bag's value at check-in, for a fee.

How to claim

1. Keep the PIR (Property Irregularity Report) from the airport. It is your proof that the bag was reported missing.
2. Make a list of the contents. For each item: what it was, when you bought it, what it cost, and what proof you have.
3. Add proof: receipts, card or bank statements, order emails, photos of you with the items or of the packed case.
4. Send the claim to SAS in writing, with the PIR number, the list and the proof. Keep a dated copy.
5. Claim the suitcase itself too, with its age and price.

Age deductions

Used items are paid at their value, not as new. No legal rate exists for this, and boards set the amount themselves. In one Danish case a two-year-old suitcase was set at 1,600 kr. For new or little-used items, say so and argue for close to the full price. For old items, expect less.

Valuables

If the airline's conditions ban jewellery, money or medicines in checked bags, those items are usually not paid. Keep them in your hand luggage next time.

If SAS refuses or pays too little

Where you can complain depends on where you live and on the airline:

• Sweden: ARN takes lost and delayed bags. The fee is 150 kr and is not refunded. For travel disputes the claim must be at least 1,000 kr, which a lost bag usually passes.
• Norway: Transportklagenemnda, free. Baggage cases there rose from 29 in 2021 to 180 in 2025. File within a year of your written claim. Airlines refused to follow 36 baggage decisions in 2025, so a win is not always the end.
• Finland: for a foreign airline, the European Consumer Centre first, then the consumer disputes board (KRIL). A baggage claim on its own must be in Finnish or Swedish.
• Denmark: Trafikstyrelsen does not handle bags. Nævnenes Hus does, but only against companies registered in Denmark, and it charges a fee you get back if you win. Otherwise, Forbruger Europa.
• United Kingdom: AviationADR or CEDR, depending on the airline's scheme, after a final answer or 8 weeks. Free.
• Germany: the Schlichtungsstelle Reise & Verkehr or the conciliation body at the Federal Office of Justice. Free, for claims from €10 to €5,000.
• Spain: AESA does not take bags. Use the European Consumer Centre or the commercial court.

See the Nordic complaint boards for how each Nordic body works.

Home and travel insurance

Many home and travel policies cover lost luggage, and some insurers ask you to claim from the airline first. You can claim from both, but you can't be paid twice for the same item. Insurers also deduct for age.

FAQ

SAS offered a lump sum. Should I take it?

Compare it with your list. If the list, after a fair deduction for age, is clearly higher and you have proof, answer in writing with the list and ask for the difference.

Was my SAS flight also late?

Then you may also have a claim for flight compensation under EU261, which is separate from the bag. See SAS compensation denied.