If you have ever been in the unfortunate position of having your luggage damaged, lost or delayed upon arrival when travelling internationally, then you likely know how frustrating the experience can be. The question that arises is what rights you have as a consumer in this situation, and whether there are any steps you may take to recover your luggage or receive compensation from the airline.
The Montreal Convention on International Air Travel
When travelling internationally, your trip is likely protected by the Montreal Convention- an International Treaty which governs relations between consumers and airlines during international air travel. If you are travelling internationally and have a domestic connecting flight along the way, your trip will also be protected, as long as your connecting flight is on the same ticket as your international flight.
The Convention seeks to protect the interests of consumers in international air travel and to ensure that consumers are adequately compensated when things go wrong.
If your Luggage Is Delayed upon Arrival:
If your luggage does not arrive at your destination at the same time as you, it is considered delayed (even if the delay is only for a few hours).
Article 19 of the Montreal Convention states that the air carrier is liable for any damage caused by the delay in delivery of your luggage after air travel. This means that, if your luggage is delayed in arriving at your destination and, as a result, you have to purchase replacement items such as clothing or toiletries, you are entitled to be reimbursed by the airline for the value of those replacement items. Ensure that you act reasonably when purchasing replacements- do not replace inexpensive clothing with designer items for instance otherwise you risk having your claim rejected or adjusted.
If your luggage was delayed, you must lodge a written complaint with the airline within 21 days of the date on which you eventually receive your luggage. Your complaint may be sent via email and should include all relevant details regarding your claim as well as copies of receipts for replacement items. In your email, stipulate that you are claiming reimbursement in terms of Article 19 of the Montreal Convention which makes air carriers liable in the event of delayed luggage.
Bear in mind that the Convention places a cap on the amount of compensation you may claim from the airline. Currently, the cap for compensation in the event of delay is approximately R113 430.04.
If your Luggage is Lost:
If the airline admits that it has lost your luggage or if your luggage does not arrive within 21 days of your arrival at your international destination, your luggage is considered lost. According to Article 17 the Montreal Convention, in the event of lost luggage, the airline must reimburse the value of what was lost. If your luggage is lost, send a written complaint to the airline via email setting out the details of your claim and that you are claiming in terms of Article 17 of the Montreal Convention.
The airline’s liability in the event of loss is currently capped at approximately R27 330.50- so bear this in mind when packing valuable items into your checked-in luggage.
If your Luggage is Damaged in Transit:
Article 17 of the Montreal Convention states that the airline is liable for any damage to or destruction of checked in luggage, if the damage or destruction was sustained when your luggage was in the air, or during any period in which your luggage was under the airline’s control. In the case of unchecked luggage (or hand luggage), the airline will be liable for any damage or destruction to your luggage if it was caused by the fault of the airline’s employees.
If your luggage was damaged or destroyed, you must lodge a written complaint with the airline within 7 days from the date on which you received your luggage, but it would be best to lodge your complaint as soon as you discover the damage. Again, send the airline an email setting out the details of your claim, stipulating that you are claiming in terms of Article 17 of the Montreal Convention which makes airlines liable for damaged and destroyed items.
The airline’s liability in the event of damaged or destroyed items is currently capped at approximately R27 330.50.
Practical advice
Airlines have an internal procedure for reporting lost luggage- do follow that once you realise your luggage isn’t on the carousel. You’ll need your luggage tags to do this. INSIST ON GETTING A REFERENCE NUMBER FOR THE LOST LUGGAGE REPORT. Ask for contact details where you can follow up if your luggage is not received in 24 hours. Keep your luggage tags- you’ll need them for the next steps in the process.
Follow up with the airline as best you can- that can be a frustrating process because they often use call centres with undertrained operators, who actually don’t have much authority or information. Insist on speaking to the operator’s supervisor, give them your reference number and explain why delivery of your luggage is urgent (e.g. it contains chronic medication, or you are about to travel to another area). If you don’t get your luggage delivered to you within 48 hours, complain on social media, tagging the airline (and make your complaint on their page as well, if possible) and quoting the reference number. We recommend you complain on X (Twitter), Facebook and on the airline’s website, if possible.
Regarding the written complaints you need to submit to claim compensation- it’s a huge challenge to obtain contact details for the airlines. They often provide only a physical address in their country of origin, which is usually not the traveller’s country, so an email is much more convenient. We recommend you do an intensive google search asking for an email address for the head of legal for the airline, and then send your complaint to all of the email addresses you can find in the course of this research. One can often find out who the legal staff are for the airline on LinkedIn, and then you can often guess the correct email address once you see the format they use, e.g. name.surname@airline.com.
Keep all of your slips for replacement items and attach those to your claim. Provide your bank details for purposes of payment of the compensation. Sometimes they will refund you by crediting your credit card with which you purchased your airline ticket.
Be very very careful- you may be contacted by scammers who say they are calling from the airline who try to persuade you to provide your bank details or to register on dodgy apps like Skrill for your refund. This has happened to Trudie in the context of a British Airways payment for delayed luggage.
Take-aways for Consumers:
- Pack your essentials in your hand luggage, including irreplaceable items, valuables, medication, a change of clothing that’s suitable for the climate you’re travelling to.
- Take a photo of your packed luggage plus tag so that you can prove the value of what was lost.
- Keep the luggage tags- you will need that information in order to register a lost luggage claim and to claim compensation.
- In the event that your luggage is delayed upon arriving at your international destination, you are entitled to claim reimbursement from the airline for any replacement items you purchase. Ensure that you keep all your receipts and that you lodge a complaint with the airline via email within 21 days of the date on which you eventually received your luggage.
- In the event that your luggage is lost, the airline is liable to compensate you the value of your lost belongings.
- In the event that items in your luggage were damaged or destroyed in transit, the airline is liable to compensate you. Ensure that you lodge a complaint with the airline via email within 7 days from the date on which you received your luggage, but preferably as soon as you discover the damage.
- Be mindful of the caps on the airline’s liability when packing your luggage.
By Micaela Bebington