Trek Guide
International flights cap lost-bag claims at 1,519 SDR, about $2,057, and US domestic at $4,700. The 7- and 21-day written deadlines matter more.
By Anjali Shrestha · Oct 4, 2026
On an international flight the most an airline has to pay for a lost, damaged or delayed checked bag is 1,519 Special Drawing Rights per passenger, about US$2,057 at the start of October 2026. On a US domestic flight the minimum is US$4,700. Both are…
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Up to 1,519 SDR per passenger on an international journey, and at least US$4,700 per passenger on a US domestic one. The Special Drawing Right is the International Monetary Fund's basket currency; the IMF valued one SDR at US$1.35408 on 2 October 2026, which…
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After 21 days. Article 17 of the Montreal Convention lets you treat a checked bag as lost if the airline admits it is lost, or if it has not arrived 21 days after it should have. Canada's Air Passenger Protection Regulations use the same 21-day line. Until…
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Reasonable, receipted costs of the things you needed while you waited: toiletries, underwear, a change of clothes, laundry. The airline is liable for damage caused by the delay up to the same cap, but it will expect necessity and proof. Buy what a reasonable…
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Complain in writing within 7 days of receiving it, with photographs. Under Article 17 the airline is liable for damage to checked baggage unless the damage came from an inherent defect, quality or vice of the bag itself, which is how airlines decline worn…
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File the report at the baggage desk before you clear the hall; everything else depends on it. Go to the airline's baggage desk or its handling agent in the arrivals hall, not the check-in desk upstairs. File a Property Irregularity Report (international) or…
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In writing, inside the deadline, to the airline that operated your last flight, with receipts. Use the airline's baggage claim form or email; a phone call or a chat message is not a written complaint. Attach the report reference, boarding passes, bag tags…
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A bag that is two days late can cost you a trek start date, so carry what you cannot replace and land early. Our guides see it every season: boots and medication in the hold, the bag stuck in a Gulf hub, and a departure the next morning. Wear your boots on…
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1,519 Special Drawing Rights per passenger, about US$2,057 at the IMF rate of 2 October 2026. It replaced the old 1,288 SDR limit on 28 December 2024. Up to your proven loss, and the airline may not cap that below US$4,700 per passenger under 14 CFR 254.4…
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What airlines owe you, country by country. What cover pays after the airline does. The surest way never to lose a bag. Hard or soft, and what survives the hold. Sources: US Department of Transportation, 14 CFR 254.4 (as amended 89 FR 84819, 24 October 2024)…
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