How to Claim for Lost Baggage Compensation?

One of the harsh realities of air travel is that sometimes you reach your destination without your bags. This generally happens when you are on a hopping flight. So, when you get down from one flight to board another flight, your baggage could get lost or left behind.

No one can understand the pain of losing a bag other than the owner, this can cause a lot of distress and inconvenience and ultimately ruin one’s trip. It has become very common for air travelers to encounter baggage lost, damaged, or delayed, and strangely some people do not know if they can benefit themselves from airline goof-ups.

In this blog, we will provide you in-depth guidance on how you can handle the situation and what you should do to get baggage lost, delayed, or damaged compensation. Let us now get into it.

Go to Baggage Claim Desk

The moment you notice that your baggage is missing, you must go straight and contact the baggage claim desk which is usually located near the baggage carousel at the airport itself and inform the staff about the missing baggage. If you couldn’t find any help desk there, try to get in touch with the airline and inform them about the situation. Make sure you describe every detail of your baggage and try to communicate everything politely.

File Baggage Claim Instantly

If you want to get baggage compensation, the first thing in the process is to file your claim through a Property Irregularity Report (PIR) form which you can get from any staff. Make sure you fill this form before you leave the airport.

For speedy results, keep all your travel documents handy and proceed further by providing them the information like:

• Reservation Number

• Baggage Tag Number

• Detailed Description of Your Baggage

• Your Contact Details

Once you fill the PIR form, the staff will provide you a filling number along with a copy of the report. Make sure you don’t misplace that because you will need this while tracking your baggage later. To be on a safer side, take the contact number of the baggage desk.

Ask for an Overnight Kit

You would not need an overnight kit if you have lost your baggage on your way back home. But, this happens generally when you are so another country. In any case, if that happens, you can easily ask for an overnight kit. Mostly all the airlines have a kit ready to deal with such scenarios but only a few them provide it automatically, so make sure you ask for it. The kit is nothing life-renewing but will help you in some way. It usually carries shampoo, soap, toothpaste, shaving cream, and a razor. Sometimes, you may also find deodorant, nylon stockings, aftershave, and a t-shirt.

Demand Allowance for Expenses

Without hesitating, you can request an allowance for your expenses to cover everything that your baggage carries. Most of the airlines don’t offer any allowance while giving an overnight kit. So make sure you specifically ask for it.

If you are fortunate, you might get your allowance in the form of cash or vouchers. Generally, the staff will ask you to keep a figure so that the airlines can refund you. Make sure you keep all the receipts of all the expenses, as you will need while claiming for refund.

Keep Tracking the Status

Once you are done with all the paperwork, having an overnight kit and all your expenses are covered, now you can freely leave the airport. As of now, there is nothing more you can do except waiting for your baggage and hoping it will be found soon. Usually, airlines expect the baggage to appear in their next upcoming flight, so ideally you just have to wait for 24 hours.

In case, the staff still did not contact you for the same, you need to make a call at the claim desk and check the progress.

Use Your Rights Formally

Since you have a legal right to claim for your lost, delayed, and damaged baggage, you can formally proceed by writing a complaint and request a payment for your additional expenses up to euro 1,250 under Montreal Convention. Keep in mind that the airlines will not give anything until you specifically ask. If your baggage is delayed, you can file a complaint at the latest within 21 days of the date the baggage was supposed to arrive.

To claim for your lost, delayed or damaged baggage, you can contact refundme.in and we will start processing all the paperwork for you and help you get the lost baggage compensation.

refundme.in believes in No win-No fee mantra to initiate flight and baggage compensation complaint about air passengers in India. The motive is to help the air passengers to avail fair deal of compensation from the airlines and impart the knowledge of air passenger rights across the globe.