Lost & Delayed Baggage: Your Rights Under the Montreal Convention

In the current context of travel, it’s not uncommon to see images of airports brimming with stacks of unclaimed luggage. Each of those bags belongs to someone who would prefer to have their belongings with them instead of in a massive heap.

Unbeknownst to many travellers, if your bag is damaged, delayed, or lost during transit, you can claim reasonable expenses incurred as a result of your bag not arriving with you. This covers a lot more than a toothbrush and a new pair of socks — if there’s something in your lost/delayed bag that you need, in most cases, you can claim it.

While some jurisdictions spell out passenger protections for lost/delayed baggage, such as the Air Passenger Protection Regulations in Canada or EU261 in Europe, the Montreal Convention is a lesser known treaty that spells out air carriers’s liabilities in the event of damaged, delayed, or lost luggage (amongst other circumstances).

Let’s have a look at what the Montreal Convention is and why you should know about it.

 

In This Post

What Is the Montreal Convention?

The Montreal Convention is a treaty which was signed and ratified by 132 states and the European Union.

The Montreal Convention provides uniform rules and regulations for the international carriage of passengers, cargo, and baggage. Signed in Montreal in 1999 and effective as of 2003, it is an update to the 1929 Warsaw Convention and 1955 Hague Protocol. 

The treaty provides consistency in the rules related to the international carriage of passengers, baggage, and cargo.

For example, under the Montreal Convention, if an air carrier injures or causes the death of a passenger, they are liable to pay damages of up to roughly US$175,000.

This amount could be greater, but if the airline can prove that the damages caused were not due to their negligence or caused by a third party, they won’t be liable for a greater amount.

During the carriage of cargo, should the airline damage the contents of the cargo, they are liable to cover damages. 

The most frequent application of the Montreal Convention, though, is for damaged, delayed, or lost baggage. 

When Does the Montreal Convention Apply?

If you are travelling from a country that has signed and ratified the Montreal Convention to another country that has signed and ratified the Montreal Convention, the Montreal Convention applies.

For example, since both Australia and Canada have signed and ratified the Convention, the Montreal Convention applies when travelling between the two countries. The same is true for travel between Canada and the United States.

If your departure and arrival points are within a country the has signed and ratified the Montreal Convention and there is not a planned stopover in another country, the Montreal Convention does not apply.

For example, travelling from Vancouver to Toronto, the Montreal Convention does not apply.

Note that Canada’s Air Passenger Protection Regulations essentially extend the Montreal Convention’s guidelines for baggage to domestic flights. So, even flying domestically within Canada, you are covered for damaged, delayed, and lost baggage.

If your departure and arrival points are within a country that has signed and ratified the Montreal Convention and you have a planned stopover in a country that has signed and ratified the Montreal Convention, the Montreal Convention applies.

For example, if you are travelling from Vancouver to Toronto with a stopover in Chicago, the Montreal Convention applies.

If your departure and arrival points are within a country that has signed and ratified the Montreal Convention and you have a stopover in a country that has not signed and ratified the Montreal Convention, the Montreal Convention applies.

For example, if you are travelling from Almaty to Nur-Sultan (within Kazakhstan, which is a country that has signed/ratified the Montreal Convention) via Tashkent (Uzbekistan has not signed/ratified the Montreal Convention), the Montreal Convention applies.

Damaged, Delayed, or Lost Baggage

If your bags have been destroyed, lost, or damaged while they were under the airline’s care, and if the damages were not caused due to defective or poor quality baggage (e.g., a cardboard box), you can claim damages under the Montreal Convention as long as your flight routing qualifies.

Carry-on baggage is also covered by this provision, although it is difficult to think of a situation where the airline could lose, damage, or delay your carry-on baggage.

In the event that your checked baggage has not been delivered to you by 21 days after its original date of arrival, it is considered lost, and you can claim damages that result from the loss of your baggage. 

But what if your bags are just delayed and not lost?

Article 19 states that the carrier is liable for damage caused by delays to passengers and baggage during air travel. There is, however, a qualifying statement that suggests that the carrier is not liable for damages from delays that are outside of its control.

Websites that offer (paid) assistance for claims with airlines list inclement weather, political/civil unrest, union/airport personnel strikes, bird strikes, and other reasons as situations where airlines are not liable for damages caused due to delay.

While the language around delays to passengers is quite murky, delayed luggage is quite clear: if you dropped your bag off at the departure airport and it doesn’t arrive at the destination airport, you have yourself a delay!

Let’s have a look at what the Montreal Convention states in regard to luggage delays.

Article 22 states the liability limits that carriers are subject to in the event of a delay. You’ll notice that the amounts are stated in Special Drawing Rights, which is a “basket” of currencies created by the International Monetary Fund and the value is based on the U.S. dollar, the Chinese renminbi, the Japanese yen, the euro, and the British pound sterling. 

Carriers are liable for up to 1,288 Special Drawing Rights in the event of destruction, loss, damage, or delay to your baggage. At the time of writing, that is equivalent to around $2,280 (CAD), which seems like a substantial amount for a lost or delayed bag.

Indeed, this is certainly greater than any airline would volunteer to cover when you originally file a baggage claim. I’ve heard lost baggage staff tell passengers that they can go and buy basic necessities but nothing more, which clearly is not the case.

It is important to note that just because the airline is liable for 1,288 SDR doesn’t mean that you are entitled to claim the full amount. Rather, this means that you can claim damages of up to 1,288 SDR in the event of a lost or delayed bag.

You can also submit damages of more than 1,288 SDR, if you can substantiate your claim.

What Are Damages?

When you incur additional costs that arose as a result of the loss, damage, or delay to your bag, you have incurred damages. In other words, this covers any time when you have to spend money that you wouldn’t have otherwise spent due to your baggage not arriving on time.

If you packed your toothbrush and other hygienic supplies in your checked luggage, and you are now without them at your destination and have to purchase new ones, you will now have damages that arose as a result of your lost or delayed luggage.

If you are headed to a beach resort and your bathing suit was packed in your checked luggage, you will have to buy a new bathing suit that you wouldn’t otherwise have had to buy as a result of the delay or loss of your baggage.

Maybe you have an important business meeting and your suit was in your delayed/lost suitcase. You may be able to make a claim for a replacement suit that you wouldn’t have otherwise had to purchase.

You must be able to reasonably justify your expenses, and you’ll need to retain receipts for all of the incurred damages.

In other words, buying a new winter coat when your bag doesn’t arrive in the Maldives isn’t a reasonable expense. Buying some sunscreen, a bathing suit, and a sun hat would be reasonable expenses, if those items were in your delayed bag and you would have otherwise needed them at your destination.

A Real-Life Example

In 2019, my wife and I flew from Dublin to Split via London with British Airways. When we arrived in Split, my bag came out on the carousel, but hers did not.

We filed a baggage irregularity report at the airport in Split and headed to our hotel, Le Méridien Lav. The weather in Split was much different than the weather in Dublin, and her warm weather clothing was in her checked luggage.

So, she had to buy some toiletries and appropriate clothing that she otherwise would not have had to buy had her baggage arrived on time.

The luggage was located later on that day, and was set to be delivered to our hotel on the evening of the day after we arrived.

In the meantime, she took a cab to the nearest shopping centre, claimed some reasonable expenses, and kept all documentation relating to her purchases.

We submitted the receipts and a detailed claim form to British Airways, citing the appropriate parts of the Montreal Convention that she was claiming damages under.

Upon receipt of the bag, we also noticed significant damage and filed a separate claim under the Montreal Convention. The airport staff were helpful throughout the process.

In the end, all of her claimed damages, including toiletries, a bathing suit, a few outfits, and shoes, as well as taxi fare to and from the shopping centre, were covered. Additionally, she received compensation for the damage to her bag, as well as a £100 British Airways voucher for the inconvenience.

She spent around $500 total, and everything was reimbursed. The money was deposited directly in our bank account in a reasonable amount of time.

What to Do If Your Bag Is Delayed or Lost

If your bag doesn’t arrive with you, the first thing to do is to know what your rights are. I encourage you to read through the Montreal Convention and your airline’s tariff, which spells out the agreement between you and the airline.

You’ll then want to file a baggage irregularity report at the airport. The baggage desks are usually located close to the luggage carousels.

baggage-claim-LUGGAGE0816.jpg

At this point, you can now start claiming damages by making reasonable interim expenses that you wouldn’t have otherwise had to make if you had your baggage. Be sure to keep detailed receipts, as you are going to need them when you…

Make a claim in writing to the airline within 21 days of arrival. There is an excellent step-by-step guide (with detailed information for air passenger rights in general) for Canadians at the Air Passenger Rights website.

The last step is to wait for the result of your claim. This may take some time, so you’ll have to be patient.

Depending on the outcome, you will either receive some or all of the damages that you claimed, or you may need to escalate your claim further if you are not satisfied with the result of your claim. In Canada, you can also file a claim with the Canadian Transportation Agency who will mediate the dispute, or you can escalate the claim to small claims court.

Conclusion

While lost or delayed baggage is certainly frustrating, knowing the details of what airlines are liable for can certainly alleviate your luggage woes. I wish that I was aware of these rights at an earlier point, as I have had my baggage delayed several times over the course of my travels.

Now that I’m aware of the Montreal Convention and other rights as an air passenger, I know that I can claim damages if my bag is lost, damaged, or delayed.

While the inconvenience of being without your stuff is annoying, coming back with a new toothbrush, Speedo, or three-piece suit is an optimal outcome for having suffered damages.

16 Comments
  1. cornel

    nowhere on the internet or flyertalk can i find an answer on this:

    checked in with airline Z, flying aaa-bbb-ccc-ddd.

    a-b is on airline Z and is a domestic usa flight, 500 miles.

    b-c-d is on airline Y. airport c is east asia and airport d is southeast asia. the journey is 7000 miles.

    no luggage delievered at d. it is delayed 24 hours. i have to get $100 worth of clothing and sundries during the delay because those clothes and sunscreen are in the delayed suitcase.

    WHICH AIRLINE DO I CLAIM FROM? airline Z (checkin airline) or airline Y (delivering airline?)

    1. T.J. YQQ

      You typically make a claim with the delivering airline. So, in your case, claim with airline Y.

  2. Gabor Lukacs

    Great article — but the liability cap was 1131 SDR in 2019 and it is currently 1288 SDR. You may want to update the article.

  3. John Garabedian

    Excellent article. Too bad I read this after the events which occurred to my daughter, an Olympic athlete who’s skates were in her delayed luggage when arriving to a worlds championship. Because her competition schedule was so hectic she got around to making a claim for delayed luggage 3 months later and not the 21 days specified. Air Canada said too bad, you passed your delay. What can be done.

  4. Eupgradeguy49

    TJ how did it go with making the delayed baggage claim? you never updated the post?

    1. T.J. YQQ

      The post will be updated shortly here. We got all of the expenses covered plus a 100 GBP voucher for use with BA for the inconvenience.

  5. Benjamin Doolan

    Does anyone know where i stand if the airline lost my bag twice? first back on the 19th Dec 2019 while in Australia and didn’t find it until the 5th Feb and then sent it back to me in Canada where i live, but sent it to the wrong airport and it ended up somewhere in the USA – So they lost my bag twice. Doing a claim form they are asking for a receipt for everything (which is imposable) Any information would be great.

  6. Vicky Lau

    Interesting situation as fiancee and I flew DFW – LAX on United and arrived with damaged luggage wheels(it was ripped off). Went to baggage service counter and put in a claim. Was offered a shiny brand new luggage (much more expensive and better quality than my mine!) and swapped on the spot.
    Fiancee was happy because it came in rose gold.

  7. Eric

    informative thank you

  8. Nicholas

    Once arrived in Rhodes Greece, my sports gear bag did not followed us.
    I was told that sports equipment are not under the same rules and was not able to be compensated for the 2 day delay in arriving at the hotel.

    1. T.J. YQQ

      Which airline did you fly with? It would be good to look at the tariff to see if it specifically spells out different rules for sporting equipment. Otherwise, I would believe that it should be covered. You should be able to make Montreal Convention claims up to two years after the incident, too.

  9. Joe blow

    Not directly related, but I have a question about checked luggage.

    Say you’re flying a complex itinerary (in my case, as a mini-RTW), with multiple segments and destinations.

    In my case – ignoring the routing I’ll be taking to get there – I’ll be going from YYZ-NRT-PER-TXL-YYZ (NRT and TXL are technically “stopovers” and PER is the “destination” for Aeroplan purposes). I’ll want to have my checked luggage at each of these destinations.

    But I don’t have direct flights. To get from YYZ-NRT, for example, my routing is YYZ-LAX-ICN-NRT. To further complicate matters, the YYZ-LAX segment is aboard AC while LAX-ICN and ICN-NRT are on OZ.

    So the question is, where will I need to pick up my checked bags?

    Ideally, IMO, they’ll arrive at NRT without any intervention on my part, being routed seamlessly from YYZ by the airlines.

    Worst case, I’ll have to pick them up and re-check them for each segment (ie. at LAX, ICN, and NRT).

    Or maybe it’s the case where I’ll only have to do that when I switch airlines? Since LAX-ICN-NRT is all aboard OZ, maybe I’d have to pick up/re-check at LAX after my AC flight, but won’t need to do so at ICN?

    1. T.J. YQQ

      As long as you have boarding passes, I believe your bags will be checked through to the stopover points (unless the airline says otherwise). But, flying through the US, I would ask the agent at check-in if you need to pick up luggage and check it in again. I recently through ZAG-VIE-LHR-FRA-BOS-YYZ (all layovers, no stopovers), and the bag was checked through to YYZ in ZAG.

  10. bingo

    Interesting to know that the Montreal Convention only applies BETWEEN countries..you would think it’s a foregone conclusion that if I’m flying within Canada, and experience issues, that you’d be within your rights of the Montreal Convention. I’d love to know the logic behind that one.

    Nonetheless, it’s always great to know your rights. Now the question is…can you double dip with your credit card that provides protection in these cases? :p

    Thanks for the article

  11. Vik

    Great info and great post! How does the travel insurance on credit cards like Amex platinum come into play?

    1. T.J. YQQ

      For flights booked on points, it would be worth knowing if you are covered if you pay the taxes/fees with the Platinum card. When I filed the claim with British Airways, one of the first questions on the form was if we had insurance through a credit card (they said it likely offered greater coverage than what they could, but I imagine that was just to deter people from filing Montreal Convention claims).

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