Delayed or missing baggage after air travel
Försenat eller förlorat bagage vid flygresa - Engelska
The airline is responsible for ensuring your baggage arrives if you have checked it in correctly. If your baggage is delayed or lost during a flight, you can claim compensation from the airline.
Translated page: This text has been translated from Swedish. The text and appearance of the page may look different from the original page.
Keep this in mind if your luggage is delayed or missing
Report that your baggage has not arrived immediately in the arrival hall. Make sure you fill out a claim form, known as a Property Irregularity Report (PIR), together with a representative from the airport or airline.
Send your compensation claims to the airline as soon as possible.
Find out your rights and make a claim
When your baggage does not arrive, it is important to report it immediately at the baggage claim. Make sure you fill out a report form, known as a Property Irregularity Report (PIR), together with a representative from the airport or airline. The report will serve as your proof that the baggage did not arrive.
If you have not reported the missing baggage, it may be difficult to claim compensation, as airlines usually assume that the baggage has arrived and been collected. In such cases, you will likely need some other type of documentation to prove that the baggage did not arrive to claim compensation from the airline.
Save receipts for all purchases
Keep all receipts for items you buy due to the delayed or lost baggage. This can include clothes or other necessities you need while waiting for your baggage.
Send you claim to the airline as soon as possible
To claim compensation, you need to submit your claim to the airline. Include the receipts. If your baggage was delayed but you have received it, you must send the claim within 21 days from the date you received the baggage.
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.
Send the claim to the airline as soon as possible. Have you traveled with multiple airlines? Then you can choose whether to send the claim to the airline that operated the first or the last leg.
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 7 days after you got your baggage.
Send the claim to the airline via email or letter
If you can not submit the claim via the airline's website, you can send it via email or letter instead. The important thing is that you complain in writing. Find the airline's contact information on their website. If you don’t have the contact details for the airline, you can check the terms and conditions on the airline’s website. Sometimes the contact details are listed there.
Your claim should include:
- Property Irregularity Report (PIR)
- Receipts for purchases (send copies and keep the originals for yourself). If you don't have receipts, you need to estimate the value of the baggage.
- Ticket/boarding card.
- Pictures or movies (if your luggage has been damaged).
Save a copy of the claims you send to the airline.
You are entitled to compensation for expenses incurred due to delayed baggage. This can include costs for clothing or other items you need to purchase while waiting for your baggage. The airline’s liability for delayed baggage is limited to 1,519 SDR (approximately 21,800 SEK) per passenger. Keep in mind that you must minimize your expenses. If you purchase more than necessary or choose the most expensive option, you may not receive full compensation.
File a complaint as soon as possible
If your baggage is delayed, you need to file a complaint and make a claim to the airline as soon as possible. You must file the complaint within 21 days from the date you received your baggage.
Sometimes you receive half the amount
Often, airlines offer only 50 percent compensation for clothing you needed to buy due to delayed baggage. This is because you will likely use the clothing when you return home.
Situations where the airline is not required to compensate you.
The airline does not have to compensate you if it has done everything reasonably possible to avoid you incurring costs. Even in cases where it was impossible for the airline to take such measures, they do not have to pay compensation. There are no specific situations where the airline is always free from liability. If the airline denies your claim, it will be assessed 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 companies.
If any of the following situations occur, you can claim compensation for the value of your baggage:
- The baggage has not arrived within 21 days after the day it was supposed to arrive.
- The airline acknowledges that the baggage is lost.
It is important to send your claims to the airline as soon as possible.
If you receive your baggage after 21 days and have not yet received compensation for the contents, the airline only needs to compensate you for the additional costs incurred.
Amount of compensation
The airline’s liability for lost baggage is limited to 1,519 SDR (approximately 21,800 SEK) per passenger. To be entitled to more compensation, you must have declared that your baggage is of higher value when checking it in. If you make such a “special declaration”, you can receive higher compensation if the baggage is lost. In this case, the amount you specified to the airline will apply. The airline may charge you a fee for making a “special declaration".
Cases where the airline does not have to compensate you
The airline does not have to compensate you if it can show that you caused the baggage to be lost. Compensation may also be reduced if you contributed to the loss.
Some airlines have conditions that limit what you can pack in checked baggage. This can include valuables, keys, business documents, certain electronics, and valuables. These conditions can also limit what you can claim compensation for if the baggage is lost.
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 your 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 companies.
Travel with a Swedish airline or an airline not registered within the EU
The Swedish Consumer Agency
If you need guidance, you can contact our national information service. We can provide information on your rights and what options you have. We provide independent guidance and therefore cannot assess your individual matter, resolve disputes or contact companies for you.
Municipality's Consumer Guidance
Many municipalities provide consumer guidance where you can seek free information and support. The assistance offered may vary from one municipality to another.
Travel with an airline form another country within the EU, Norway, Iceland or the United Kingdom
If you are residing in Sweden and the airline you have issues with is registered in another EU country, Norway, Iceland or the United Kingdom, you can receive free advice from ECC Sweden. ECC Sweden is part of a network of consumer offices within the EU. In some cases, ECC Sweden may share the case with a sister office in another country to attempt to reach a solution through mediation.
Before contacting ECC Sweden you need to have lodged a claim with the airline first.
To ECC Sweden, you need to submit a description of the problem and documentation showing what has happened. Documentation is necessary if your case is to be shared with any sister office in another country. Remember to keep your originals and only send copies to ECC Sweden.
Send your case via email to: konsumenteuropa@konsumentverket.se
The email should include:
- your contact information and the airline's name
- your ticket or boarding card
- a copy of your complaint and the claims you have made
- receipts
- the airlines reply
- the Property Irregularity Report
Once you have submitted your case, you will usually receive a response within approximately a couple of weeks.
ECC Sweden cannot:
- Force a company to act according to the law. The work is based on the company being willing to cooperate with the ECC network to reach a resolution.
- Mediate in a case if we cannot identify the seller or if the seller refuses to cooperate with the ECC network.
- Act as legal representation or assist when the consumer has already initiated legal proceedings.
- Assist in purchases between businesses or purchases between individuals.
If you have any questions
ECC Sweden is part of the Swedish Consumer Agency. Do you need help clarifying your rights or want to discuss if and how you can proceed with your case? Then you can contact us at the information service.
Contact the National Board for Consumer Disputes
If you and the company cannot reach an agreement, you can file a complaint to the public authority the National Board for Consumer Disputes (ARN).
ARN will assess your case and make a recommendation on how to resolve the dispute. Most companies follow ARN’s recommendations.
A normal processing time is approximately six months.
What does it cost to file a complaint with ARN?
It costs SEK 150 to file a complaint with ARN. When you submit your complaint, you can request that the company compensates you for the cost if ARN makes a recommendation in your favor.
Requirements for ARN to consider your case
- The company has either rejected your claims or has not responded within a reasonable time.
- The amount you and the company are in dispute about is SEK 1000 or more. You cannot include the application fee to ARN.
- You file the complaint within one year from the first time you complained to the company.
Submit a complaint on ARN's website
If you need help with your complaint
Sometimes, the municipal consumer advisors can assist you in making a complaint to ARN.
Settle the dispute in court
If you have gone through the steps in this process but still have a dispute with the company, you can take the dispute to court. In that case, you should contact the district court (tingsrätten). It costs money to submit a complaint to court.
Are you unsure whether you should go to court or do you need help with your case? Then you can seek assistance from a lawyer.
Before seeking legal assistance, you can contact your insurance company. Many home insurance policies include what is called legal protection. It can cover certain costs associated with legal proceedings.
How much does it cost?
For a dispute involving a claim of up to 28,650 Swedish kronor (half a price base amount in 2024), known as a simplified litigation or small claim, the application fee is 900 kronor.
If the claim exceeds 28,650 kronor, or if the dispute does not concern a specific amount, the application fee is 2,800 kronor.
If you lose the dispute, you may be required to pay both your and the company's legal costs. However, in small claims, the costs you may have to pay are limited.
The content is presented in collaboration with ECC Sweden, which is part of the ECC network and the Swedish Consumer Agency's information service. ECC Sweden is part-financed by the European Union.
The content of this website represents the views of the author only and it is his/her sole responsibility; it cannot be considered to reflect the views of the European Commission and/or the European Innovation Council and Small and Medium-sized Enterprises Executive Agency (EISMEA) or any other body of the European Union. The European Commission and the Agency do not accept any responsibility for use that may be made of the information it contains.
