Delayed, missing or damaged baggage after air travel
Försenat, försvunnet eller skadat bagage - Engelska
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Translated page: This text has been translated from Swedish. The text and appearance of the page may look different from the original page.
Report that your baggage has been damaged
The airline is responsible for all checked baggage that is permitted to bring on the flight. If your checked baggage has been damaged, has gone missing or is delayed during the air travel, you should report it directly at baggage pick-up. Make sure to fill in a Property Irregularity Report (PIR) together with a representative of the airport or the airline company. The report is your proof that the baggage has been damaged during the air travel. If you leave the airport without making a report, it can be harder to prove that the baggage was damaged during the air travel. If there are no personnel on site so that you can make a report, you can instead photograph the baggage at the airport so that you have image evidence that the baggage was already damaged at baggage pick-up.
Did you not get a PIR report?
If you do not have a PIR report, it may be difficult to demand compensation since the airlines in such cases usually presume that the baggage arrived and was delivered as it should have been. Then you will probably need some other kind of documentation that proves that the baggage was already delayed or damaged at the airport to be able to move on and request compensation from the airline.
Work out your compensation and send the claim to the airline
When your baggage gets delayed, missing or damaged during air travel, you may have a right to compensation. With our free tool, the Flight Calculator, you answer questions about your travel to find out what rights you have and if you can claim compensation. The Flight Calculator also guides you further to the website of the airline in question so that you can send in your demand through the website.
Find out what you can claim using the Flight Calculator Send the claim to the airline as soon as possible. If your case concerns delayed baggage that you got back, you must send the claim within 21 days of when you got the baggage back. If it concerns damaged baggage, you must send the claim to the airline no later than seven days after you got your baggage.
Damaged baggage
How much compensation you may get
When your baggage is damaged, the airline’s compensation liability is limited to 1,288 special drawing rights (SDR) per passenger. This is the equivalent of about SEK 17,100. SDR is a reserve currency that is used in international trade. See the current value for SDR on the Riksbank website (information in Swedish)
To have a right to more compensation, you must have declared that your baggage is extra valuable in connection with checking the baggage in. This is usually referred to as making a “special declaration”. The airline has a right to charge a fee for this. By making a “special declaration”, you can get higher compensation if your baggage goes missing. Then, the amount you have stated to the airline applies instead.
You can never get higher compensation than what your baggage is worth.
In these cases, the airline does not need to compensate you
If you have packed in such a way that the baggage breaks in transit, the airline has no obligation to compensate you. Some airlines also have conditions that limit what you may pack in the checked baggage. This may be items such as valuable documents, keys, business documents, certain electronics and valuables. This may limit what you can get compensation for if the baggage is damaged.
Sometimes you can get compensation through insurance
Contact your insurance company to see if you can get compensation for the baggage through your home insurance or travel insurance.
If you have paid for the travel with a card, you may also have an extra travel insurance through the card issuer. Check what applies with the card issuer. Compensation can be paid out from several companies. So, if you have several travel insurance policies, such as through both home insurance and a bank card, you can send a claim report to both of the companies.
Delayed baggage
Your right to compensation
You have a right to compensation for costs that you are struck by because your baggage is delayed. The costs can, for example, be expenses for clothes or other items you are forced to buy while waiting on your baggage. But keep in mind that you have to limit your costs. If you buy more than necessary or the most expensive option, it is not certain that you will receive full reimbursement.
File a complaint as soon as possible
If your baggage is delayed, you need to complain and send a claim to the airline as soon as possible. This means that you file a complaint. You must file a complaint within 21 days from when you got the baggage back.
Sometimes, you are reimbursed half of the amount
Airlines often only offer 50 per cent in reimbursement for clothes you needed to buy when your baggage was delayed. This is because you will probably have a use for the clothes when you come home.
In these cases, the airline does not need to compensate you
The airline does not need to pay you compensation if it has done everything that can be reasonably expected to keep you from being struck by costs. They also do not need to pay compensation in the cases where it was impossible for the airline to take such actions. There are no set situations where the airline goes free from liability. If the airline denies your claim, it is an assessment on a case-by-case basis.
Sometimes you can get compensation through insurance.
Contact your insurance company to see if you can get compensation for the baggage through your home insurance or travel insurance.
If you have paid for the travel with a card, you may also have an extra travel insurance through the card issuer. Check what applies with the card issuer. Compensation can be paid out from several companies. So, if you have several travel insurance policies, such as through both home insurance and a bank card, you can send a claim report to both of the companies.
Missing baggage
If any of the following situations arises, you can demand compensation for what the baggage is worth:
The baggage has not arrived within 21 days after the date it should have arrived
·The airline admits that the baggage is missing.
It is important that you send your claims to the airline as soon as possible.
How much compensation you can get
The airline’s liability for damages for lost baggage is limited to SDR 1,288 (which is equivalent to around SEK 16,702 or EUR 1,596) per passenger. To have a right to more compensation, you must have declared that your baggage is extra valuable in connection with checking the baggage in. By making a so-called “special declaration”, you can get higher compensation if your baggage goes missing. Then, the amount you have stated to the airline applies instead. The company has a right to charge you a fee when you make a “special declaration”.
In these cases, the airline does not need to compensate you
Some airlines have conditions that limit what you may pack in the checked baggage. This may be items such as valuable documents, keys, business documents, certain electronics and valuables. This may limit what you can get compensation for if the baggage goes missing.
The airline also does not need to pay you compensation if it has done everything that can be reasonably expected to keep you from being struck by costs. They also do not need to pay compensation in the cases where it was impossible for the airline to take such actions. There are no set situations where the airline goes free from liability. If the airline denies your claim, it is an assessment on a case-by-case basis.
Sometimes you can get compensation through insurance.
Contact your insurance company to see if you can get compensation for the baggage through your home insurance or travel insurance.
If you have paid for the travel with a card, you may also have an extra travel insurance through the card issuer. Check what applies with the card issuer. Compensation can be paid out from several companies. So, if you have several travel insurance policies, such as through both home insurance and a bank card, you can send a claim report to both of the companies.
How to get an assessment of your case
The body that should review your case depends, among other things, on the kind of compensation you are demanding and the country in which the problem with the flight arose. Contact our national information service and we will provide information on where you can turn to.
Source: ECC SverigeKonsumentverket
Proofread: 17 February 2022
This page was funded by the European Union's Consumer Programme (2014-2020). ECC Sweden is a part of the European Consumer Centres Network, but also a part of the Swedish Consumer Agency’s information service. At ECC Sweden, consumers who made cross-border purchases within the EU, Iceland, Norway or the UK can get free help and advice from our legal advisers.