Short answer
- Before you leave the airport, file a Mishandled Baggage Report (MBR) with the airline that flew your last leg. Without it, the airline doesn't have to refund the bag fee. 14 CFR 260.5(b)
- Bag fee refund is automatic once a domestic bag is 12 hours late (15 or 30 hours on international trips). 14 CFR 260.2
- Losses on US domestic trips: airlines can't cap liability below $4,700 per passenger, covering loss, damage and delay. 14 CFR 254.4
- International (Montreal Convention): up to 1,519 SDR per passenger, about $2,000. Damage claims are due in writing within 7 days, delay claims within 21 days.
Step 1: the Mishandled Baggage Report
Go to the airline's baggage service office in the arrivals hall, or use the airline's app if it offers baggage reports, and file before you leave. File it with the airline that operated your last flight, even if a different airline sold you the ticket. 260.5(b)
Leave with the file reference number, the agent's name, and a copy or screenshot of what was recorded: your bag tag numbers, a description of the bag, and the address where it should be delivered.
Getting the bag fee back
A bag is "significantly delayed" if it isn't delivered to you (or picked up) within:
| Your trip | Bag fee refund once the bag is late by |
|---|---|
| Domestic itinerary | 12 hours |
| International, longest nonstop to/from the US is 12 hours or less | 15 hours |
| International, nonstop to/from the US over 12 hours | 30 hours |
The clock starts when you're allowed off your last flight and stops when the bag is delivered to the agreed address or picked up. The 15- and 30-hour standards also cover domestic legs of an international trip. 14 CFR 260.2, 260.5(a)
- The refund must be at least the fee you paid for that bag. If you checked several bags on an escalating fee scale and the airline can't tell which tag was late, it must refund the highest per-bag fee. 260.5(e)
- It's due automatically once the bag is significantly delayed and you've filed the MBR. 260.5(d)
- "Prompt" means 7 business days for credit card payments and 20 calendar days for others. 260.2
Want to know what you paid in the first place? Our bag fee comparison lists each airline's fee by ticket date.
Paying for what you lost (domestic)
The bag fee refund is separate from compensation. For losses, the federal rule sets a floor on how far an airline can limit its liability:
…an air carrier shall not limit its liability for provable direct or consequential damages resulting from the disappearance of, damage to, or delay in delivery of a passenger's personal property, including baggage, in its custody to an amount less than $4,700 for each passenger. — 14 CFR 254.4, read Oct 29, 2026
What that means in practice:
- It's a cap, not a payout. You're paid for what you can prove, up to the limit. Receipts, photos and the bag's contents list matter.
- Delay counts. Reasonable costs caused by a delayed bag (a toothbrush, a change of clothes, a phone charger) are "consequential damages resulting from… delay". Keep every receipt.
- The limit is per passenger, applies to flights on large aircraft (more than 60 seats) or a ticket that includes one, and the airline must tell you its limit in writing with your ticket. 254.3–254.5
International trips: the Montreal Convention
On most international trips, baggage liability follows the Montreal Convention instead of the domestic $4,700 rule. ICAO's revised limits took effect on December 28, 2024:
| What | Limit per passenger | Approx. USD |
|---|---|---|
| Baggage: destruction, loss, damage or delay | 1,519 SDR | about $2,000 |
| Delay of passengers | 6,303 SDR | about $8,400 |
Source: ICAO, Oct 18, 2024. Dollar figures are ICAO's own approximations, based on 1 SDR = US$1.33318 on Oct 18, 2024; the SDR rate moves daily.
Deadlines that can sink a claim
- Damaged bag (international): complain in writing within 7 days of receiving it.
- Delayed bag (international): complain in writing within 21 days of the date the bag was handed back to you.
- Miss these and the convention bars the claim except in cases of fraud by the airline. Source: Montreal Convention Article 31, as quoted in a U.S. federal court opinion published on govinfo.gov (ICAO's treaty PDF blocked our reader).
- Domestic trips: deadlines are set by each airline's contract of carriage and are often shorter, so treat the international deadlines as an outer limit and file as soon as you can.
Claim checklist
- File the MBR at the airport and get the reference number.
- Buy only what you need while you wait, and keep every receipt.
- Ask for the bag fee refund once the 12/15/30-hour line has passed, if it hasn't arrived automatically.
- If the bag is damaged, photograph it before you unpack and send a written claim within 7 days (international).
- If it never shows up, send a written claim listing contents and values, with any proof of purchase.
- No answer? The airline must acknowledge a written complaint in 30 days and respond in 60 14 CFR 259.7. After that, file with DOT.
What people are posting
Between Oct 22 and 29, 2026 (UTC), we counted 248 English posts on X saying things like "lost my luggage", "lost baggage" or "delayed bag". Three of them:
“Airline lost my luggage, no phone charger, no clothes…”
“Airline lost my luggage and all they gave me in return was a $12 voucher”
A JetBlue passenger posting about lost luggage.
The $12 voucher post is a good example of why documented costs matter: the rules cap what an airline must pay, not what it may offer first.
Sources
- 14 CFR 260.2 and 260.5: eCFR (version current as of Oct 27, 2026; read Oct 29, 2026).
- 14 CFR part 254, Domestic baggage liability: eCFR (read Oct 29, 2026).
- 14 CFR 259.7: eCFR (read Oct 29, 2026).
- ICAO, revised Montreal Convention liability limits, Oct 18, 2024: icao.int (read Oct 29, 2026).
- Montreal Convention Art. 31, quoted in a federal court opinion: govinfo.gov (read Oct 29, 2026).