Loss of baggage. Payments for international flights. What to do if your baggage is lost

In the life of every traveler there comes a moment when, near an empty luggage belt, he is left alone without his luggage and without a single chance for sympathy. What to do if your baggage is lost? The sequence of actions and possible options in case of loss of things checked in baggage.

If you are left without luggage, for starters, do not panic. There are two options, one good, the other not so good. There is a third option, a very bad one - but I hope it will not come to it.

1. Luggage was delayed en route

Perhaps your baggage simply did not have time to be reloaded onto the plane at the airport connection. This happens if a short docking occurs simultaneously with a time delay. You have time to change seats, but your luggage is not. This case happens most often.

In this case, the luggage will arrive on the next flight or the next day and will be delivered to your hotel at the expense of the airline.

This happened to us when we were docking at the Istanbul airport, we flew in from Kyiv and flew further to Hong Kong. The connection time was an hour and a half, but the flight was delayed by about an hour and we literally managed to run from plane to plane at Istanbul Airport. We didn’t see any luggage in Hong Kong, we immediately found a Baggage sign in the arrivals hall, filled out a short receipt issued by the clerk, and indicated the address of the hotel where we were going to stay in the paper. The luggage arrived the next day.

2. Luggage lost

The luggage was lost and did not arrive either the next day or a few days later. The second most common option, which used to happen quite often in our native Boryspil airport.

As an example, I will tell you a case that happened to my friends who flew to Kyiv from Los Angeles via Moscow on an Aeroflot flight. Before Boryspil airport The luggage of one of them did not get there, it was not found, and the next day my friends flew home to Lvov without one suitcase. In the completed application for the search, they made a description of the luggage - an approximate list of things and the address where it can be delivered in Lviv. Three days later, representatives of the airline delivered their luggage to the specified address, they did not receive any compensation.

3. BAGGAGE IS PERMANENTLY LOST

If the baggage is not located within 5 days, which is extremely rare, then the carrier airline is engaged in the search for another 21 days. After three weeks of search, the baggage, if it is not found, is considered lost and you can count on compensation from the airline. Usually it is $20 per 1 kg if you didn't check your luggage before the flight.

WHAT TO DO IN THE EVENT OF DELAYED OR LOSS BAGGAGE

The sequence of actions is as follows:

We are looking for a sign in the arrivals hall of the airport with the inscription “Luggage search”, “Lost and Found” or “Lost baggage” “Baggage Service”

We contact the employee of this service; if it happened abroad suffice it to say - Excuse me. I have lost my baggage, help me, please.

We show baggage receipt, which is attached to the boarding pass - BaggageTag and passport.

We fill out the form that the employee of the baggage tracing service issues; indicate the address of baggage delivery - a hotel, for example, or a home address. If the address is unknown, luggage can be picked up at the airport.

Never lose your baggage receipt! Without it, there will be additional problems and a time delay, I hope you understand why.

I don’t have examples of baggage delays longer than 5 days, such cases are quite rare. From my experience, I can advise that if you are flying on vacation together, take two suitcases, just don’t put things on the principle of “each your own things in your own suitcase”. Distribute them evenly in both, if one is lost, you will have everything you need for the first time.

It is possible to take pictures of luggage and the contents of the luggage before departure. Well, if you are carrying something especially valuable - mount a micro-chip in your suitcase or put a GPS navigator, then it will be easier to find the luggage, although this is already from a parallel reality, as for me.

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Losing your favorite things at the airport will undoubtedly spoil the most vivid impressions of any trip. Unfortunately from baggage loss no one is safe. Both a novice and an experienced air passenger can face such a nuisance.

At the same time, many begin to panic, not knowing what to do and whom to turn to. And will it be possible to find things and receive compensation from the carrier for the inconvenience caused? Every air passenger has certain rights that they should be aware of. First of all, you need to go to the Bulky baggage counter, where your suitcase could mistakenly fall into. If there is nothing there, then most likely the airline has lost it. In this case, you should contact the lost and found baggage service (Lost & Found), which is available in each international airport, or to the representative office of the airline.

You will need to fill out a baggage defect report, international name which P.I.R from the English property irregularity report. In the appropriate fields, you will specify:

• contact information: phone number, e-mail, residential address;
• flight number along with the route you flew;
• ticket number;
• description of the missing suitcase. You only need to choose the appropriate picture from the proposed options;
• description of its content. Be sure to include things that will make it easy to identify your baggage. Agree that salad-colored shoes or a Chinese dictionary are unlikely to be found in every second suitcase.

Please be aware that the airline may refuse to process claims if you do not complete the P.I.R in the baggage claim area. The act is filled in two copies: for the passenger and the airline. Then you are given an individual application number, with which you can independently track its status on the airline's website or using the World Tracer system (global search of luggage). You just have to wait for the results.

Air carrier assistance and baggage tracing

If the suitcase is lost abroad in another country in which you do not live, the airline is obliged to issue money for the purchase of essentials or provide a ready-made package. The rules of different carriers may differ. However, you have the right:

• get a set of hygiene items
• demand reimbursement of expenses for their purchase within the amount of 70-100 €. You only need to provide checks.
• demand a daily fixed payment for a set period.

A suitcase lost within the airport, in most cases, is found after 2-3 days, about which the airline representatives will inform the passenger. Found luggage can be brought to the specified address or you will have to go to the airport for it. In this case, the air carrier is obliged to reimburse all fare, you just need to provide the appropriate checks.

Luggage search 21 days from the date of loss. If the suitcase is not found during this time, then it is considered irretrievably lost or stolen. In such a situation, you have the right to demand compensation from the air carrier for material damage. The amount of compensation for damage to baggage, delay or loss is governed by the Warsaw and Montreal conventions and private rules of the air carrier. Each situation is considered on an individual basis. The approximate amount that you can count on is $ 20 per kilogram of things, but not more than $ 1,500. You won’t be able to get more, even if there were diamonds or bundles of money in your luggage. Therefore, it is so important to carry valuables in hand luggage.

How to get compensation

You need to make a written claim for damage (delay, loss) of luggage, to which a copy of the malfunction report is attached. Then describe the contents of the suitcase with an indication of its approximate value. If there are extracts from credit card or shop receipts, it is advisable to provide them. The following must also be attached to the claim:

• a copy of the passport;
• baggage receipt;
• boarding pass;
• Bank details;
• checks for the forced purchase of necessary things;
• receipts confirming the cost of repairing the suitcase or the conclusion of a specialist that the luggage cannot be repaired.

In order for the air carrier not to refuse to consider the claim, it is important to comply with the deadlines for filing it. If the damaged suitcase was issued at the airport building, the claim is submitted no later than seven days from the date of its receipt. In the case when the damaged baggage was brought to you directly at home, the application is made no later than 21 days from the delivery period. If the suitcase is lost, you have the right to file a claim within 18 months. It happens that the airline refuses to pay compensation. Then feel free to sue. In most cases, passengers win lawsuits.

How to prevent lost baggage

Suitcases are lost for various reasons. For example, a check-in employee at the airport mixed up the stickers, and your luggage flew to Thailand instead of Turkey. The tag on the suitcase was badly glued or it was torn off during loading, so your things did not get on the plane, but to the Lost & Found service. The suitcase can be lost at the connecting airport when flying on a transit flight. Your baggage can be picked up by another passenger, confusing it with his own. To prevent baggage loss, you need to:

• buy a suitcase of non-standard colors, even purple with yellow polka dots. It's hard to confuse this. You can add a distinctive detail: a large sticker, a bright ribbon;
• remove tags from past trips from your suitcase. Otherwise, the scanner may incorrectly read the information and send the baggage to the wrong place;
• attach a tag with your full name and phone number;
• come to check-in in advance so as not to lose your things in a hurry;
• during check-in, make sure that a tag is attached to the suitcase with your flight number in a quality manner;
• when flying with transfers, specify whether it is necessary to pick up luggage at the connecting airport and check it in again;
• it is advisable to wrap the suitcase with polyethylene, this will help protect it from some damage.

By following these simple rules, you will reduce the risk of losing your luggage and will be able to enjoy the vivid impressions of the trip, and not spoil your nerves in search of a suitcase.

People who fly frequently are probably familiar with the situation of tedious waiting at the baggage claim belt: arrived or did not arrive? According to statistics, every 90 seconds one of the passengers still does not find their luggage on the belt. What to do if you become such a passenger? We understand.

Reasons for Lost Baggage

the most banal and common cause losses - the tag on the suitcase was torn off and the airport staff were unable to deliver him to desired flight. In this case, the suitcase is immediately sent to Lost & Found.

Failure in the computer system. Sometimes it happens that a suitcase ends up on another plane due to a computer error. Most often, such errors occur on transit flights.

Stole. The most unpleasant option, because here the probability of finding a suitcase is almost zero.

What to do if the luggage "did not arrive"

Immediately go to the Lost & Found department and fill out a loss report. It must indicate the shape, color, material from which the suitcase is made, information about the name tag, the presence or absence of wheels and handles. By the way, about the tag: its presence with the registered contact information of the owner will significantly reduce the time of searching for a suitcase - do not be too lazy to attach such a thing to your suitcases.

The presence of a tag with the registered contact information of the owner will significantly reduce the time of searching for a suitcase

The completed report will be immediately entered into the World Tracer international baggage search system, and you will be given a copy of the missing report. As soon as the system locates the luggage, a Lost & Found employee will contact you and inform you when the luggage will be delivered. You can also track baggage searches on your own by entering your data on the World Tracer website.

What to do if not found

Maximum baggage search time - 21 days, after this period, the baggage is considered lost or stolen. The passenger is entitled to claim compensation from the airline. The amount of compensation is governed by the Warsaw Convention and the Hague Protocol. Usually they pay about 20 dollars per 1 kg of weight.

Airlines are not required to compensate for the cost of lost items during the search for a suitcase. But if you are left in another country with practically no clothes and personal belongings, it makes sense to contact the airline employees with a request to compensate for the cost of buying essentials. Often, representatives of carriers agree to pay a small amount, not wanting to spoil their image. In this case, it will be necessary to show receipts for purchases, however, they will be paid only for half.

Loss of luggage, although a rare case, you should be prepared for such a turn of events in advance. In this article, we will tell you in detail what to do if your luggage is lost at the airport.

If you did not find your luggage on the tape upon arrival, remember if your luggage was registered as oversized? Oversized baggage often includes sports equipment, baby strollers, overweight suitcases, suitcases with fragile items, etc. In this case, you need to look for it not on the tape, but in the oversized baggage claim department.

If your baggage is not oversized and it is not on the belt, then contact the counter Lost & Found. It is available at almost every airport (except for very small, regional ones) and, as a rule, is located in the baggage claim hall or right next to the exit from it.

If this service is not available at the airport, then contact the representative of the airline you were flying with or the airport administration. This must be done before you leave the terminal or airport.

You will be asked to fill out a Property Irregularity Report (PIR) form, which includes your passenger contact details and flight details, details appearance baggage: color, size, special features, etc. In addition to this, you must present the baggage receipt (tag) that you stuck on your boarding pass (passport) at check-in. After that, you will receive an act indicating the registration number.

After filling out the act, Lost & Found employees enter this data into the World Tracer international baggage search system. Information enters a single database, and from there it is sent to all airports that use this system (there are about 1960 of them), where it automatically compares information about unclaimed baggage, which is entered into the database by airlines from around the world. If the data of the lost and found luggage match, it is sent to the owner.

How to track the search for lost luggage?

You can track baggage searches on the World Tracer website.

To do this, you need to enter your last name and identification number in the form AAABBNNNNN, where AAA is the airport code, BB is the airline code and NNNNN is the 5-digit tracking number. For example ATLXS13166. You will receive this number after completing the act in the Lost & Found service.

The system will track your luggage for 100 days, after this period you can consider it lost without compensation. Unclaimed items are usually destroyed, but for example in the USA you have a chance to find them in the Unclaimed baggage store.

Now some terminology...

Luggage counts detainees, if it has not been delivered to you within 21 days after arrival. After this period, it is considered lost and can claim compensation, to do this, you must submit a written application, provide a boarding pass, baggage tag and Property Irregularity Report, as well as a statement containing a list, the approximate date of purchase and the value of the lost items.

Compensation for Lost Baggage

If the airline did not find your luggage within the established time frame, then it is obliged to pay compensation. The amount of compensation depends on which convention the airline that lost the luggage has ratified, there are only two of them:

Warsaw convention(since 1929) - the most popular, according to which passengers receive about $ 20 for each kilogram of baggage weight.

Montreal Convention(since 1999) - according to it, the airline, in case of loss, delay or damage to baggage, is obliged to pay up to 1000 special drawing rights *

* Special Drawing Rights (SDR) - an artificial reserve and means of payment issued by the IMF. The SDR rate is published daily and is based on the dollar value of a basket of four major currencies: US dollar, euro, yen and pound sterling. On this moment, 1 SDR = 1.5$.

If you have receipts for things lost along with your luggage, then there is a chance to receive full compensation for their value, however, it is very difficult to prove that they were in the suitcase.

Another way to recover your expenses is to check in your luggage with a declaration of value. In this case, in case of loss of things, you will receive their full value back. However, insured baggage will be charged additional fee, its size is set by the airline.

If you did not find your luggage upon arrival at the resort, you can demand money from the carrier to buy essentials. The amount depends on the airline and is usually around $50, but some carriers give much higher amounts. If you are out of the proposed budget, then be sure to keep the receipts, it is likely that you will be reimbursed for the costs. This compensation is not regulated by any official documents and depends on the policy of the airline, if it values ​​its reputation and customers, then compensation will be paid without problems.

If luggage is lost at the airport, an unpleasant situation arises, the way out of which is difficult, but it exists. Anyone who travels frequently should know what to do if they lose their luggage. First you need to go to the counter, where bulky luggage is issued. Even if the suitcase is small, it could simply be transferred to this department by mistake. If there is no suitcase in the large section, then the airline has lost luggage. Every airport should have a search desk lost luggage and issuance of the found. The first thing to do is to go there. Airport employees will give you a special act to fill out.

Lost luggage desk

It contains all the basic information:

• surname and name of the passenger;
• contacts by which the passenger can be contacted: telephone, e-mail, address;
• flight number and route;
• number of ticket;
• need to describe lost suitcase You can choose from the provided pictures.
• it is advisable to describe the contents or indicate a few of the most remarkable things by which it will be easy to find the lost suitcase.

The act is filled in the language of the country of destination or in English. In total, 2 copies are filled out, one of which remains with the airline, and the other is given to the passenger. An application for a lost suitcase is registered in the system, and a serial number is assigned to it. By number, you can track the status of your lost luggage. After that, it remains only to wait for a message from the company that lost the luggage and is looking for it.

If the flight was carried out with the help of Aeroflot, you can contact its representative office at the airport.

It is also necessary to prove that the baggage contained essential items, for example, hygiene items. In this case, Aeroflot airline must issue money to buy the necessary things or a set hygiene supplies essentials.

If there is a loss of luggage at the airport, it is usually located within 1-3 days. The airline, which is to blame for the loss of baggage, must notify the passenger that the items were found and deliver them to the specified address. If the address was not specified, you will have to pick up your luggage at the nearest airport. In this case, the airline must compensate for transportation costs if there are appropriate receipts.

But it happens that the luggage is not at all. It is considered irretrievably lost after 3 weeks or 21 days. In such cases, the passenger is entitled to compensation, which is determined depending on the weight of the loss. Each case is considered individually. On average, the amount of compensation is calculated in the amount of $20 per 1 kg, but not more than $1500 in total. No matter how valuable things were in the luggage, more than $ 1,500 will not be paid.

Aeroflot calculates compensation at 600 rubles per 1 kg of lost luggage. If the weight of the suitcase is not known, compensation is automatically calculated at 35 kg of the default weight.

If there is a video recording at the airport that the luggage was taken from the conveyor belt by another passenger, then a police report will follow. Valuables and expensive equipment are best carried in hand luggage, but it is sometimes lost. If there is a loss of hand luggage, you should immediately contact the flight attendants, sometimes they shift the luggage to another compartment for security reasons. If the loss is discovered after getting off the plane, you need to contact the baggage tracing service and draw up an appropriate report. The service, in turn, will contact the crew of the aircraft or the airport from which the departure was made.

If it is proven that hand luggage was lost during the flight, the airline will refund $400, regardless of what was in the luggage. IN Russian airlines amount of compensation for hand luggage is 11,000 rubles. If there are checks for the goods that were in the baggage, the airline must compensate for their cost or part of it.

Reasons for losing luggage at the airport

The main cause of baggage loss at the airport is the human factor. This happens if, for example, the loaders forgot to load the suitcase on the plane, or the wrong sticker is pasted, and the suitcase flew to Brazil instead of England. Things can be mistakenly taken by another passenger who has the same suitcase. Most often, luggage is lost if there are many transfers on the road. During the loading process, a sticker may come off, on which the flight and passenger data are indicated.

In order to avoid losing your luggage during the flight, you need to follow a few rules:

1. It is better to choose a suitcase of bright and catchy colors to make it easier to find it. You can attach some bright accessory, sticker or ribbon to it. It is advisable to take a picture of the luggage so that it is easier to find it in case of loss.
2. If there are old tags from previous flights on the body of the suitcase, it is better to remove them, otherwise the scanner at the distribution may send the baggage to the wrong place.
3. It is advisable to attach a tag with the contact information of the owner to the bag or suitcase.
4. It is better to come to check-in in advance, so there is less risk of losing luggage in a hurry.
5. It is necessary to carefully monitor that the tag is glued with high quality and does not fall off during the loading and unloading process. The passenger must have a copy of it.
6. When flying with many transfers, you should definitely ask the airline if you need to receive and check in baggage again.
7. If you are transporting expensive and valuable things, it is better to insure your baggage. Then, in case of loss, you can count on compensation.
8. It is advisable to pack the suitcase in polyethylene to protect it from damage and opening.
9. For a fee, you can check in luggage with the announcement of its value.

If possible, it is better to choose non-stop flights, during which baggage is most often lost.

Missing items from luggage

It is not uncommon for luggage at the airport to be received from a conveyor belt with obvious outward signs damage or opening. Some things are not found in the suitcases. In such cases, you should immediately contact the representative office of the carrier airline, it is she who is responsible for the safety of things during flights. It is required to present a ticket, a receipt that the luggage was, and provide a list of stolen property.

A suitcase with damage, broken locks or cuts should be presented to the airline.

It is proof that the items were lost through no fault of the passenger. The company, together with the passenger whose things are missing, draws up an act describing the lost property. After that, an investigation is carried out and the amount of compensation to be paid to the victim is determined.

If things from the suitcase are not missing, but it is badly damaged, you should also contact the airline. She is obliged to reimburse the cost of a new suitcase or the repair of an old one, if restoration is possible. The amount of compensation for lost items is determined by the airline in each individual case. If there are checks confirming the purchase of valuables, you can count on compensation of 50% or even their full value.