The airline has lost luggage - search instructions. Lost Baggage Tracking Lost Baggage

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. Each airport should have a counter to search for lost luggage and return 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;
you need to describe the lost suitcase, you can choose the appropriate one 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 must issue money to buy the necessary things or a set of essential hygiene items.

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 baggage. 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, the 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:

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.
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.
It is advisable to attach a tag with the contact information of the owner to the bag or suitcase.
It is better to come to check-in in advance, so there is less risk of losing luggage in a hurry.
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.
When flying with many transfers, you should definitely ask the airline if you need to receive and check in baggage again.
If you are transporting expensive and valuable things, it is better to insure your luggage. Then, in case of loss, you can count on compensation.
It is advisable to pack the suitcase in polyethylene to protect it from damage and opening.
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.

You waited for the final unloading of your luggage at the destination airport, but you never found your luggage on the conveyor belt - sad, but don't worry. You need to look through all the transport belts located at the airport and make sure that your things, due to the error of the loaders or a computer failure during loading, did not get into the baggage of another flight or onto the oversized baggage belt.

You can wait a little longer - sometimes it happens that tired passengers, by mistake, take someone else's suitcase and, after a few minutes, run with an apology to return it back. If this does not happen, then it is necessary, without leaving the airport (arrival zone), to immediately contact the special search service, which is located on the territory of the airport and works around the clock, without days off and breaks.

If you lost luggage at the airport then you can contact the information desk, ask a representative of the airline carrying it, or independently find a service office or counter with the inscription “Lost and Found” or “Lost and Found” or “Lost baggage”. This is the service that will search for your lost luggage. You need to submit an application addressed to the management of the air carrier company (in business language this means making a claim) and fill out a baggage search report, present your passport and baggage receipt (Baggage Tag). The act must indicate the flight number, ticket booking code, attach a boarding pass.

The baggage receipt for checked-in baggage at check-in must be kept and protected. This is the only proof that you have luggage when you board the plane. In the application, you need to describe the lost baggage in the most detailed way (the list of contents inside is added after five days if the baggage was not found)

Advice for the future - for especially valuable luggage, install a microchip or gps navigator before departure. Sometimes it happens, though rarely, that your luggage is simply forgotten to be loaded at the airport of departure or transit.

Lost and Found Bureau of Lost Baggage Tracing in Antalya

Lost Luggage Tracing Bureau in Nizhny Novgorod

Hawaii Airport Baggage Tracing Bureau (Lost and Found)

Particular attention should be paid to special signs: shape, overall dimensions, weight, color, stickers, colored belts, handles, number of wheels, snakes, trademarks, name tags, and the like. You can attach a photo of your luggage before you leave. This is necessary to identify the owner of the baggage in case the baggage tag with your number is torn off or lost during loading, transit reloading from flight to flight, or simply during the transportation of baggage.

In the act, it is necessary to indicate your contacts for reporting information; the exact address to which the found baggage will be delivered; and telephone in case of questions. For yourself, you need to write down: - phone number of the airline representative; Lost Baggage Tracing Agent who accepted the application and take a copy of the Lost Baggage Report.

Now you can forget that you lost your luggage at the airport and can go about your business while waiting for the results of the search for luggage. The search for luggage, during the first five days, is carried out by special services of the airport of arrival. Almost all international airlines are united and connected to the Word Tracer system. This is an international baggage tracking system. The data from the act is entered into the system and the search begins. You can follow the progress of the search via the Internet using your unique registration number, as well as eliminate errors in the description of baggage or your data. For this, you will need the number recorded during the preparation of the act.

As soon as the baggage is found, the employees of the tracing service specify how quickly the baggage can be delivered, and inform the passenger who submitted the application that the baggage was found, on which flight, when and where it will be delivered. It usually takes a few days and everything goes well.

The airline delivers the found baggage to the address specified in the application. Many airlines give out essential items or small cash compensation when luggage is lost. You will need to keep receipts from the money spent for the report when you receive your luggage. As moral compensation for the inconvenience, they can provide a discount coupon for frequent flyers when buying the next air ticket.

If after five days there is no result, then the luggage will be searched for by representatives of the airline that lost the luggage, and the passenger has the right to turn to the culprit for a certain amount to purchase clothes.

To collect your baggage, you will need to present your passport, baggage receipt (tear-off baggage tag with a UPC barcode) and an act drawn up at the airport on the day of arrival.

If the baggage is not found quickly, the passenger has the right to file a written complaint with the Claims Department within three weeks. The forwarding of the lost and found baggage paid according to the tariff takes place at no additional charge. If within twenty-one days the baggage is not found and returned to the passenger, then the baggage is assigned the status of stolen or irretrievably lost.

Material damage is compensated at the rate of 20 dollars per kilogram of the weight of the lost luggage. If the compensation is not satisfactory, then you can file a lawsuit in court to review the amount received.

For reference: 90% of passengers who lost their luggage at the airport find it within the first two days.

One of the most common problems for passengers is the loss of luggage at the airport. According to statistics, up to 25 million suitcases are lost every year. Luckily for travelers, non-return rates are low, at just 3.4%. Most of the lost suitcases and bags find their owners.

Nevertheless, you need to know the sequence of actions in such a situation. Search activities are the same in all cases. And as an example, you can take the search for luggage at Sheremetyevo Airport.

This procedure is regulated by the General Rules of Air Transportation. Most of the requirements are universal for all carriers operating on domestic and international lines.

Suitcases are issued after passport control in a specially designated room. Things must be received immediately upon their receipt for issue, and at the exit from the terminal you will have to present a tear-off ticket of the luggage tag.

The internal rules of airport terminals detail the issuance procedure. In Sheremetyevo, cargo can be received in the issuing hall, which is served on a conveyor belt, indicated by an indication on the information board.

If there is no load on the conveyor belt

Everyone should know what to do when a suitcase or bag is not found on the conveyor. The main thing here is not to panic. The loss of baggage by an airline is a serious problem, but it can be completely solved. First you need to make sure that things are gone:

Wait for the end of the issuance. They may have been the last to be uploaded.
Look at the transporters dispensing cargo from other planes. Rarely, but mistakes do happen.
Check the oversized cargo tape.

If there are no doubts, and things are lost, you will have to contact the search service at the terminal. There is a possibility that they were mixed up upon receipt and are already waiting for the owners from the employees of this service.

Where to go

Usually this counter is called "Lost & Found" or "Luggage Search" in Russian. If necessary, any of the airport employees will show where it is. There may be a situation where such a stand is absent. Then the place to call could be:

representative office of the air carrier whose crew performed the flight;
representative office of the national air carrier of the country of arrival;
if neither is available, contact the airport authority.

Before applying, check the availability of the documents required to complete the application:

identification;
ticket;
detachable luggage tag.

Office staff should help the passenger at the time of the request, regardless of the time of day. The victim draws up the necessary documents in the form of a statement of loss in the name of the carrier, fills out a Investigation Act or Property Irregularity Report (in the abbreviation the name is written as PIR).

How to fill out an act

Claims must be filed as soon as the loss is discovered. Before filling out, you will need to present a tear-off coupon, which is usually attached to the ticket. The Act must indicate:

flight number;
series and number of the passport;
color, weight and size characteristics of the suitcase;
special signs (stickers, external defects, bright details, trademarks, name tags, etc.);
contact details and the address to which you need to deliver the lost suitcase, bag or backpack.

An example of a completed act (click to enlarge):

The claim is drawn up in two copies. One of them remains with the applicant, and the second goes to the management of the airline, which must organize the search. If it was not possible to find the loss within five days, a detailed list of things that were inside the luggage is attached to the application.

Search algorithm

Regardless of the reasons for the loss, the search for baggage is the responsibility of the air carrier. If the flight was operated by Aeroflot, its employees will be engaged in the search. The search must begin immediately upon receipt of the written application.

The carrier sends requests:

at the airports of departure and arrival for the presence of things;
to airports where things could be sent by mistake;
when they are detected, a request is sent for delivery to the destination.

The found loss is delivered to the address indicated by the owner in the act. Delivery does not require additional payment and is carried out at the expense of the airline. Upon receipt of things, you must present a passport, coupon and act, which must be kept until the end of the search.

How to track a search

Usually the loss is found quickly, but there is also a protracted search. In this case, the contact details of the airline employees will be required. Take care of this when filling out the PIR. Telephone numbers are listed at the service counter, which you must write down in advance. If you have internet access you can use the unified World Tracer database, through which the owner can track the search.

After receiving a statement of loss, all data is entered into the database. To access information in the request form, you must specify personal data and the code obtained when compiling the Search Act. On the website of Sheremetyevo Airport, you can see a list of airlines that are tracked in this database.

How to get compensation

Since the carrier is responsible for the cargo, the airline will compensate for the loss. Claims for damages can only be made after three weeks have elapsed. If during this period the search for the wanted baggage was not successful, it is considered lost.

Compensation must be paid on the basis of a written claim, which must be sent before the expiration of 6 months if the problems occurred on domestic flights, and up to 18 for international flights.

Attached to the application:

air ticket;
tear-off coupon;
insurance documents, if the items were insured;
checks confirming the value of the contents of the suitcase or bag.

The airline management is obliged to consider the claim within 30 days and pay the amount prescribed by law or refuse in writing.

Payout amount

The amount of compensation payments for losses on international flights is established by international agreements. If things were lost during an international or transit flight, when one landing was outside the country, 20 dollars or 19 euros are paid for one kilogram of cargo. On domestic flights, the amount is 600 rubles per kilogram.

If the exact weight is unknown, then the calculations are based on the average, which is 35 kg per person. In cases where the value of the property was declared by the passenger in advance, the payment is made in the declared amount. The amount will be higher if the items were insured.

In addition to the above compensation, you can apply for:

Compensation for other damages. When a passenger had to miss a connecting flight or train departure, the company must refund the ticket price.
Payments for moral damage. If there is no way to confirm health problems, their size will be small.
If the carrier did not satisfy the claims on a voluntary basis, and the compensation had to be beaten out through the court, an additional payment of a fine in the amount of 50% of the amount paid to the passenger is possible.

Such payments, most likely, will have to be sought through the courts, therefore, after receiving the found things, you should not sign the documents with a statement of the absence of claims.

Other payments

In cases where baggage is lost and the passenger is deprived of essentials, some companies may offer reimbursement for the purchase of them. This is not the responsibility of the carrier, but most of them provide such assistance for reputational purposes. The amounts are usually small, paid after receipt of receipts confirming expenses. When buying clothes, half the cost is paid.

If these costs were not paid by the company, they can be included in the list of legal claims.

In addition to the loss of bags and suitcases, passengers have to deal with other troubles. Usually this:

theft of things;
property damage;
jumbled suitcases.

In the first two cases, you will also have to contact the carrier to draw up a claim. On its basis, the issue of compensation is being considered. This may be full or partial cost, depending on the decision of the commission. In case of damage to the suitcase, repair compensation is possible.

The latter situation requires the prompt return of things to the office of the carrier company or to the airport.

How to avoid problems

Most often, things are lost on flights with connecting flights, when a carelessly attached tag came off. In this case, things can either fly away in an arbitrary direction, or stay in place. In order to prevent such situations, speed up the detection of the loss, and reduce material losses, it is necessary to:

if possible, avoid routes with transfers;
make sure that the tag is present and the strength of its fastening;
remove previous tags left over from previous flights;
do not carry particularly valuable items;
insure the cargo;
wrap the bag or suitcase with plastic, which will reduce the risk of damage and theft;
when choosing a carrier, read the reliability ratings and take them into account when buying tickets.

Be sure to include your last name with initials, contact details, destination, and flight on the name tag. Let this partly duplicate the information from the coupon, but the process of detecting luggage if it is lost will be so much faster. If you had to face trouble - do not despair, more than 90% of losses are found within the first two days.

Where do they get luggage

Not all passengers know where to go after the landing of the liner and where to pick up their things.

IMPORTANT: in order not to get lost, follow the rest of the passengers.

We pass passport control.
We go to the baggage claim. The number of the tape and the number of the arriving flight are written on the scoreboard (it is indicated on the boarding pass). If you did not find the suitcase, first make sure you are at the right tape.
Suitcases and bags that were not taken from the belt are unloaded by airport employees at the final destination. Take a close look there again, in case you missed your stuff.

IMPORTANT: airports and airlines have their own rules. Often, for example, strollers, bulky or fragile goods are issued elsewhere. Check with the staff at the airport of arrival for such nuances.

What to do if you lost your luggage

If you still haven't found your suitcase, take the following steps:

Go to the counter labeled Lost & Found. It should be located in the field of view in the hall where the issuing tape is located. Look around carefully. If not found, ask the airport employee. If such a counter is not provided, contact the airline representatives.
Write a written application with a request to find the lost baggage. Sometimes you need to write a letter in free form, sometimes special forms are issued. If you are abroad, the form must be completed in English.
Wait. You will be called from the airport. Often the lost cargo is located and delivered to the owner within 46 hours.

IMPORTANT: the baggage is the responsibility of the airline that checked it in and loaded it on the plane.

How to write an application

The application is made on a ready-made form, where you need to specify personal data and describe the suitcase. The process is not complicated. Pictures and images are provided to help. Therefore, you can fill out the form even in a foreign language. So, provide the following information:

surname, name and patronymic of the registered owner;
contact details for communication (address, phone, e-mail);
route and flight number on which you arrived;
data from the baggage tag, which is attached to the boarding pass;
description (variants of drawings are offered, choose the most similar to yours). Color, size, shape, special signs are marked with a tick in the proposed list. Describe in detail the appearance of the suitcase in the additional information line;
description of the contents of the suitcase. Sometimes you need to describe 2 - 3 things that were in your luggage in order to identify it. Specify unusual items with special features. It is important to leave the address of the place where you will live during the search, so that things can be delivered to you when they find it.

The application is made in two copies. You will be given a special identification number by which you can track the status of the search via the Internet on the airline's website or through the World Tracer world search service. In addition, get a phone number from Lost & Found to call them if necessary for clarification.

Why is luggage lost?

Suitcases are often lost due to a mistake made by airport staff. But sometimes the passengers themselves are to blame.

The passenger is not looking there. If you mistakenly stood at the wrong tape, or did not know that the item was issued in the large-size department, it falls into the number of unclaimed items after being idle at the pick-up point.
The suitcases are mixed up. Another passenger took your bag by mistake.
Tag loss. A special adhesive tag is attached to each suitcase. If it is not secured securely and is lost, the luggage will be sorted as lost during unloading.
Short flight connection time. If you are flying with transfers, and the connection time is 1 hour or less, airport employees may not have time to transfer cargo to another plane.
The mistake of the loaders, who accidentally threw the suitcase in the wrong place, and therefore instead of France it ended up in Turkey.
If your baggage has tags from previous trips, a scan error may occur and the suitcase will then be sent in a different direction.

How to find lost luggage

Major airports work with an international search system. The data from the application is entered into a single database, and the search for compliance with the data on unclaimed baggage begins. If a match is found, Lost & Found employees find out where the suitcase is. Then they notify the passenger and report the estimated time of arrival at the airport of the desired country. Such things are sent by the next flight and delivered in 1 - 3 days. Upon arrival at your destination, airport staff will contact you to discuss the method of its delivery in two ways: either you arrive at the airport and pick it up, or you are delivered to the specified address at the expense of the airline.

Do not rely on search service workers, you may not get a call. Therefore, check the search status through the official World Tracer website. To do this, on the page that opens, enter the search act number and full name.

Or call the airport search service and specify the necessary information. In addition, you can monitor searches through the website of the airline that lost the suitcase (relevant for Russian airlines).

IMPORTANT: according to the rules of some airlines, it is required to write an additional letter with a request to deliver things to you at the specified address. Otherwise, they will wait for you at the airport until you pick it up.

According to international standards, 21 days are allotted to search for luggage. If during this period it was not found, it is considered irretrievably lost. In this case, you should think about getting compensation.

Lost luggage compensation

An application for compensation is submitted to the airline that lost the luggage. The term for filing a claim is 2 years from the date of registration of the loss. The amount of compensation depends on which convention the country of the air carrier is in: Warsaw or Montreal.

According to the rules of the Warsaw Agreement, compensation for luggage is provided in the amount of $17 per kilogram. If the suitcase is not weighed, the weight is automatically estimated at 35 kg.
according to the rules of the Montreal Convention, compensation is a maximum of 1000 conventional units per piece of baggage, which is equal to 1200 - 1300 euros (the rate is calculated within each airline individually).

Russia works under the Warsaw Convention.

IMPORTANT: if you estimate the value of the lost item above the proposed amount of compensation, you will have to go to court with evidence.

If you agree with the proposed amount of compensation, you will need to provide the following documents to receive:

Statement.
Passport.
Boarding pass.
Baggage tag.
The number of the baggage search report.
Requisites for the transfer of reimbursed funds.

In addition, in case of loss of a suitcase, compensation is provided for the money spent on the purchase of essential items (shampoo, soap, toothpaste, brush, comb, etc.). This will require checks.

If you had to buy an expensive item, for example, a business suit for an important meeting, the issue of compensation is resolved individually. If it is proved that you need the purchase, and it was made involuntarily, the airline will offer two compensation options: you keep the item for yourself and receive a 50% refund, or you hand over the item to the company and receive a 100% refund.

IMPORTANT: in addition to the loss of luggage, airlines provide compensation for damage to things, partial theft, breakage of a suitcase, inconvenience caused (payment for a forcedly rented hotel room, payment for travel to the airport for your luggage, etc.). You need to keep checks, then present them to the airline. If she refuses to reimburse the funds, the issue is resolved through the court.

Where do lost luggage go?

According to statistics, up to 10,000 unclaimed items are found annually at Russian airports. Most often, these are prohibited items that are confiscated from passengers when boarding a plane. You can come back for them later. This includes unclaimed baggage. People often forget bags, things, then do not return.

First, such things fall into a special room for unclaimed baggage. Each airport has two of them: for things forgotten during domestic flights, and for items found at international terminals. Here things are stored for 30 days.

If after this time the owner has not shown up, they are transferred to a special storage room for up to 6 months. Then they are disposed of, or sold in commission stores, if the thing is new and with a label. This approach is due to the fact that storing unclaimed things is too expensive.

Some of the suitcases from international airports end up in the Scottsboro American store in Alabama. This is the only store in the world that buys unclaimed baggage for resale.

To minimize the risk of such a problem affecting you, take a few simple precautions.

Keep the receipt for the purchased suitcase and other things that you bought on the trip.
After each trip, remove stickers and tags from your suitcase, even the smallest ones. They confuse automated scanning when sorting.
Be sure to attach a name tag with contact details to your suitcase (preferably in a foreign language for an international flight). So it will be found faster if it suddenly gets lost. Indicate your full name, phone number, address of permanent residence, hotel, duration of stay in a foreign country and date of return to your homeland.
When registering, carefully monitor whether the operator has attached the correct tag to your bag.
If you are flying with transfers, check with the operator where the luggage is checked in. Sometimes you have to get a suitcase at the dock, and then return it again.
Make your bag stand out. Choose a suitcase with a pattern or a bright color, attach an identification mark to the handle in the form of a ribbon, bow, etc.
If you are carrying expensive items, buy an additional service such as luggage insurance.

Even with caution, unforeseen situations arise suddenly. If you lost your baggage during the flight, do not panic, contact the Lost & Found search service and draw up an act. Remember, 90% of things are found in the first two or three days and returned to the owner.

Airlines around the world have been at war with the problem of lost baggage for years. It causes a lot of inconvenience to passengers and significantly reduces the popularity rating of the respective air carriers, which brings them huge financial losses.

But no matter how modern the methods of servicing, checking in, packing and transporting luggage are, its loss is still quite frequent. This does not mean at all that every flight must be accompanied by a loss of luggage.

The incessant flow of passengers and the human factor are doing their job. After all, people work with luggage, and they tend to make mistakes. In most cases, baggage is still found, but passengers receive it later than they would like, and air carriers have to pay dearly for their mistakes.

General rules and actions in case of lost baggage

Almost every international airport has a special baggage tracing desk, the so-called Lost & Found. It is there that, first of all, it is worth contacting a passenger who could not wait for his luggage.

The next step is to fill out a luggage search report, which should indicate all the external signs of a travel bag or suitcase: color, size, shape, type of suitcase, handles, wheels, material and, of course, name tag data.

The airline representative will require the passenger to present a tear-off baggage tag coupon - it is usually glued on the ticket cover. The act of search should be filled in duplicate. One will remain with the filling passenger, and the second will be sent for consideration to the airline's management. It is better to take a contact phone number from one of the employees in order to be aware of the search process.

The most common reason for lost luggage is that the small tag that is attached to the bag during check-in has come off. Usually the passenger himself is responsible for the quality of its sticking, so you should take this seriously. The better you attach this label to your luggage, the less problems you will have.

The marking tag contains all the necessary information about the owner of the baggage and the flight to which it belongs. One can only imagine the confusion airport workers are left with when a travel bag without any markings falls into their hands. Such cargo is transferred to the Lost & Found service, where it patiently waits for its owner. It’s good if the tag came off at the point of departure or landing, and not during one of the transfer stages. Then it will be much harder to find it.

Many international airlines connect to the worldwide baggage search system - World Tracer. It works based on the search for matches between the passenger's application and notifications of found baggage. A printout containing the application number is issued to the passenger, and when the system finds the lost baggage, airline employees contact him and arrange a meeting. He can pick up his things by presenting a printout.

The airline has 3 weeks to find the loss. If during this time employees fail to find the luggage, the fact of theft or loss is recognized, and the company is forced to compensate the owner for losses. As a rule, luggage is found within five days from the date of the application. If not, the passenger is asked to make a detailed list of the things that were in it. This technique is successful in 99% of cases.

Compensation for lost baggage

So, first of all, each passenger must understand that the airline is not obliged to compensate the cost of baggage in full. By law, for every kilogram of weight, there is a compensation of $ 20, regardless of how much and what kind of things you had there. A baggage pass is attached to it, by presenting which the passenger has the right to receive compensation for the weight of the baggage indicated there. If it so happened that his bag was not weighed, the average value is taken - 35 kg.

Passengers can express all their discontent about disagreement with the amount of payments at the main office of the airline. In rare cases, people have been able to secure a $5,000 financial refund. In general, you should always remember that air carriers in cases of loss of luggage are not responsible for the safety of jewelry and expensive equipment, so it is advised to carry such things in the cabin as hand luggage. If it is hand luggage that is lost baggage, then the airline is obliged to pay the passenger about $ 400.

Well, we figured it out, but who should you turn to for help and financial support if the lost luggage was not found right away?

If you have managed to get into a similar situation in an unfamiliar state, then feel free to go to the main office of the airline that provided your transportation. Don't count on a massive refund, but you'll definitely get around $50 to buy essentials. In cases of unsuccessful search for luggage, you should contact the same place for payment.

All of the above details on baggage compensation apply to all international airlines. If you flew on an Aeroflot flight, then you should contact the baggage tracing service with all claims, and the details of possible compensation will be accepted in accordance with the aviation legislation of the Russian Federation. Most likely, when your luggage is found, you will have to personally come to the appropriate airport service to collect it.

If Transaero Airlines acted as a carrier, then you should seek help from its relevant services. The main thing is to have luggage receipts with you, without which there can be no talk of compensation. The passenger can receive a refund in the amount of the declared value of their belongings, if the total value does not exceed 600 rubles per kilogram. The maximum amount of compensation for hand luggage is 11 thousand rubles. For international transportation - $ 20 per kilogram of weight and 400 for hand luggage, as mentioned above.

As for the huge international airlines such as Lufthansa, Air France and British Airways, they are among the top ten airlines in the world with the most luggage loss. The amount of compensation for such a loss they have is different from payments made by Transaero on international flights. The Warsaw Convention and the regulations that were adopted there are responsible for such similarity.

However, there are also other airlines that take their passengers' baggage very seriously. Consequently, the size of their compensation payments is much larger. For example, the American company Northwest/Southwest pays its passengers $50 on the first day, and if the baggage can't be found within a week, they pay another $150. Continental pays its passengers at least $250 if they don't find their luggage on the first day.

One of the most prosperous airlines in the world in terms of baggage problems is the Israeli company “El Al”, in which there are only 9 problem situations with baggage per thousand passengers.

Airport compensation

If the luggage is lost at the airport, the procedure of the passenger's actions completely coincides with his actions in cases of loss of baggage on the flight. It is necessary to contact the baggage search service, and if there is none, then draw up an appropriate search report in the administration. The carrier airline you used will be responsible for finding your baggage. The airport itself is not responsible for your luggage and its safety, but each of them is the base for some airline.

For example, Vnukovo airport is served by RusJet airlines, Pulkovo airport is considered the base for such companies as Ural Airlines and Transaero, and Domodedovo is served by such airlines as Transaero, S7, Moskovia ”, “RusLine” and others. However, this does not mean that other airlines cannot take off and land at these airports. In any case, the responsibility for the safety and timely delivery will always be assigned to the air carrier you have chosen.