Once you realise that your checked bag is missing at the airport, you must immediately make a report at the lost-and-found counter. — Pixabay
You've arrived at your destination airport, but your luggage didn’t? The start of your vacation, or your return from your carefree holidays, can suddenly turn stressful. Two travel experts explain what to do next – and where to get a toothbrush.
Reporting the loss
After your suitcase has gone missing, you have to respond directly and report the loss. At the airport’s lost-and-found desk you can get the necessary form to fill out, the so-called Property Irregularity Report (PIR). The PIR should be sent to the airline within seven days, advises Julia Zeller of a German consumer affairs office in Munich, Germany. This way, you can make your possible claims for a reimbursement of costs. (The PIR is an internationally recognised report and is used in Malaysia too.)
Some airlines also have their own baggage tracing services at the airport. However, Zeller points out that an online form – which can normally be found on the airline’s website – is usually sufficient.
To report the loss, you need information from your boarding pass and the luggage tag you received when you checked in. And, as an added tip, in order to be able to describe the piece of luggage as well as possible, it can help if you take a photo of it in advance.
The emergency backup suitcase and new purchases
For those who must travel further and have no personal belongings at hand, some airlines offer a kind of emergency set that contains the most necessary items. Beyond that, carriers must cover the necessary purchases once at the holiday destination.
But travellers can’t just go ahead and buy the entire contents of their lost suitcase, not to mention luxury items, notes Peter Lassek, a lawyer for a German consumer affairs office. Since at this stage it might be unclear whether the luggage will only be arriving late or has gone completely missing, you should only purchase the most necessary things.
You can ask your airline just how much the lump sum compensation is. Also, you can request a money advance or find out if you can submit your purchase receipts at a later point. Lassek says it’s fundamentally important to keep receipts in order to be able to present them to the airline.
Waiting for the airline’s feedback
The airlines mostly concentrate their efforts on getting the luggage to the original destination airport. How the travellers learn about this is something airlines handle differently.
For example, the German carrier Eurowings says on its website that passengers will be contacted and the found luggage will be sent to them by courier. Alternatively, the passenger can personally pick up the luggage at the airport. Up until that point, passengers can follow the search efforts online.
Easyjet and Ryanair likewise have portals for this purpose. A passenger can, if needed, provide updated delivery addresses when, for example, travelling on to a new destination.
Claiming damage compensation
If the suitcase is not returned to the owner within three weeks’ time, it’s classified as lost. Now the passenger has a right to claim for replacement – but must provide concrete proof of what had been in the suitcase, Zeller says. Compensation is either the current value of the contents or a lump sum.
In the European Union, there is a cap on the payment for the replacement of the suitcase, as the airline is not liable for valuable items. As a rule, it’s a limit of between €1,400 (RM6,561) and €1,600 (RM7,498), according to consumer centres. Those travelling with valuable items are therefore advised to keep them in their carry-on bag. Luggage insurance can also be useful.
With luck, the suitcase might turn up again, in which case the traveller has 21 days after the day of receipt to contact the airline again and file for a refund for costs incurred due to the delay, the consumer advice centre notes. For package tours, both the airline and the tour operator must be informed.
Depending on the airline, it takes different amounts of time for payments to be made, Zeller says, as there are no legal deadlines. Travellers should therefore provide all the information on the form to avoid time-consuming enquiries. For example, bank account details should be given directly.
If an airline does not respond, consumer centres recommend that travellers write to the airline and set a deadline of 14 days. – dpa
For more information on lost, delayed and damaged bags in Malaysia, you can also check out the Malaysian Aviation Commission website.
