Airline lost baggage compensation amounts depend almost entirely on which convention governs your flight, where you live, and how well you document your claim. The short version: under the Montreal Convention, which applies to most international flights and many domestic flights in signatory countries, airlines are liable for up to 1,519 Special Drawing Rights (SDRs) per passenger for lost, damaged, or delayed checked baggage. At August 2026 exchange rates, that works out to roughly $2,000 USD. That is the ceiling, not a guarantee — you only recover what you can prove you lost, minus depreciation. This guide breaks down exactly what you can claim, by region and airline type, and how to push your payout toward the maximum.
The Direct Answer: What You Can Actually Get
Also worth reading: What is the flight compensation appeal success rate when airlines reject your EU261 claim? · What is the Montreal Convention baggage claim timeline and how long do I have to file a delayed or lost luggage claim? · What are my rights for flight cancellation compensation claims in 2026, and how do I actually get paid?
The headline number for international travel is 1,519 SDRs per passenger. The SDR is an International Monetary Fund unit of account based on a basket of major currencies, so the dollar value shifts slightly over time — it has hovered between roughly $1,950 and $2,100 USD in recent years. If your bag is declared lost after 21 days, or if the airline confirms it is gone sooner, you can claim up to that ceiling for the bag's contents plus the bag itself.
For delayed bags, the same liability cap applies, but you are typically reimbursed for 'reasonable interim expenses' — toiletries, underwear, a change of clothes, essential chargers. Airlines rarely volunteer this; you must submit receipts. Most carriers set internal daily limits of roughly $50 to $150 per day for essentials, capped at the overall Montreal Convention limit.
Domestic rules vary. In the United States, there is no federal statutory compensation scheme for lost luggage beyond the Department of Transportation requirement that airlines reimburse 'reasonable' costs; DOT guidance effectively aligns with the Montreal Convention figure, and US carriers' contracts of carriage typically mirror the 1,519 SDR cap. Within the EU on intra-EU flights, the same Montreal Convention limits apply — EU261 covers delays and cancellations of passengers, not bags. India applies the Carriage by Air Act, which incorporates Montreal Convention limits converted into rupees, and recent rulings show courts willing to award substantial sums: one IndiGo passenger was ordered paid Rs 50,000 for a missing bag, while another case involving sacred religious items resulted in a Rs 1.19 lakh award (about $1,400 USD).
Why Compensation Amounts Vary So Much
Three factors drive the spread between a $75 goodwill voucher and a $2,000 payout. First is the governing legal framework. The older Warsaw Convention, still technically relevant to some legacy routes and pre-dating the Montreal regime, used lower gold-franc-based limits; the Montreal Convention raised liability dramatically and simplified claims. Second is documentation quality. Airlines pay against receipts and proof of ownership, not estimates. A passenger with itemized receipts routinely recovers two to three times more than one who files a vague claim — travel writers have documented tripling initial offers simply by escalating with evidence. Third is jurisdiction and enforcement culture. Canadian passengers have the Air Passenger Protection Regulations (APPR) framework and an ombudsman-style complaints process; Indian consumer commissions have shown willingness to award well above airline initial offers when airlines stonewall.
It is also worth being honest about the asymmetry here. Airlines profit from the fact that most passengers never file, file late, or accept the first lowball offer. Industry data consistently shows only a minority of eligible passengers pursue claims, and initial settlement offers frequently cover a fraction of documented losses. Knowing the 1,519 SDR ceiling exists is itself leverage, because airline agents sometimes quote lower internal figures as if they were legal limits.
Regional Comparison: US, EU, Canada, India, and Beyond
| Feature | United States | European Union / UK | Canada | India |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Legal basis | DOT rules + carrier contracts of carriage | Montreal Convention (EU261 does not cover bags) | APPR + Montreal Convention | Carriage by Air Act (Montreal limits) |
| Lost bag maximum | ~1,519 SDR (~$2,000) per passenger | 1,519 SDR per passenger | 1,519 SDR (~CA$2,800) per passenger | Montreal limit in INR (~₹1.7 lakh equivalent) |
| Delayed bag reimbursement | Reasonable expenses, receipt-based | Interim essentials, receipt-based | Receipt-based interim expenses | Court-enforceable claims |
| Bag must be reported | Within 24 hours (domestic), 7 days (international) for damage; loss within 21 days | Damage within 7 days; delay/loss within 21 days | Prompt reporting required | Prompt reporting recommended |
| Escalation path | DOT complaint portal | National enforcement body (e.g., CAA) | Canadian Transportation Agency | Consumer courts/commissions |
Step-by-Step: How to Claim the Maximum
Act at the airport, before leaving the baggage hall. File a Property Irregularity Report (PIR) immediately — this timestamped document is the foundation of every later claim. Get the reference number, the agent's name, and confirmation of which system logged it (WorldTracer is the industry standard). Photographs of the carousel area and your remaining luggage help establish context.
Within 24 hours, start buying essentials and keep every receipt. Most airlines require that interim purchases be 'reasonable' — think toiletries, socks, underwear, one outfit, laundry. Save receipts digitally as you go. Then submit the formal claim through the airline's website within days, not weeks: attach the PIR, boarding pass, baggage tag stub, itemized list of contents with approximate purchase dates and prices, and your expense receipts. For permanently lost bags, the airline will usually declare the bag lost after 21 days if WorldTracer shows no movement, at which point the full contents claim opens.
If the first offer is low — and it often is — respond in writing citing the Montreal Convention limit of 1,519 SDRs and your documentation. Fodors and other travel outlets have documented cases where a firm, evidence-backed follow-up tripled the reimbursement. Escalate to the national regulator or consumer body if the airline stalls beyond 30 to 60 days. Credit card trip protection and standalone travel insurance can sit on top of airline compensation, though insurers typically deduct whatever the airline already paid.
Airline-by-Airline Realities: Full-Service vs Low-Cost
Not all carriers handle baggage claims equally. Full-service network carriers (Delta, United, American, Air Canada, Lufthansa, Emirates) generally have mature claims portals and honor the Montreal ceiling without much resistance once documentation is complete. Delta's published baggage policy, for instance, follows standard liability limits and processes claims through its central baggage service center. Low-cost carriers are a different story: budget airlines charge extra fees for even carry-on bags, operate with thinner ground-handling budgets, and their customer service models are built to minimize payouts. Claims with low-cost carriers tend to require more persistence and more escalations.
That said, low-cost status does not reduce your legal entitlement. If a Ryanair, IndiGo, Spirit, or Wizz Air flight loses your bag on a covered route, the same 1,519 SDR liability applies. What changes is friction: response times, initial offer sizes, and how quickly they declare a bag officially lost. One nuance worth knowing — if you checked a bag on a connecting itinerary sold as a single booking, the ticketing carrier is liable even if a partner airline mishandled the bag physically.
Common Mistakes That Shrink Your Payout
The costliest mistake is leaving the airport without filing a PIR. Airlines treat unreported bags far less favorably, and some contracts void enhanced coverage entirely if the bag was not reported within the stated window — commonly 24 hours for domestic US flights and seven days for damage on international flights. The second mistake is discarding receipts. A claim for '$800 of clothes' gets rejected or lowballed; a claim with twelve dated receipts gets paid. Third, passengers often accept the first offer verbally over the phone instead of insisting on written correspondence, losing their negotiating record.
Other frequent errors include claiming brand-new prices for years-old items (airlines apply depreciation, typically 10% to 30% per year depending on the item category), failing to mention the Montreal Convention limit, waiting past deadlines (21 days for delayed-bag claims to convert to loss claims), and double-dipping incorrectly with insurance — always inform your insurer of airline payments, since concealment can void the policy. Finally, some travelers pack valuables, electronics, cash, jewelry, medications, or documents in checked bags; these categories are either excluded from liability or capped at very low sub-limits in most contracts of carriage, so a lost bag containing a $3,000 camera may yield only a fraction of its value.
Deadlines and Timing: When to Act
Timing rules are strict and unforgiving. Damage to checked baggage must be reported within seven days of receipt under the Montreal Convention. A bag classified as 'delayed' becomes 'lost' after 21 days, and your claim should convert accordingly — but you must keep the file active. Many airlines impose internal deadlines of 45 to 90 days for submitting full documentation after the incident. Regulators add their own clocks: DOT complaints about baggage can be filed anytime but are strongest close to the event; Canadian APPR-related disputes go through the CTA; Indian consumer commission claims work best within two years.
Practically, the highest-recovery timeline looks like this: PIR filed day zero, essentials purchased days zero to three, formal claim submitted within the first week, follow-up at day 14 if no substantive response, loss declaration around day 21, escalated written demand citing 1,519 SDRs by day 30, and regulator or consumer-body escalation by day 60. Passengers who compress this timeline recover meaningfully more than those who drift.
Costs, Insurance Stacking, and Where AI Booking Agents Fit
Claiming airline baggage compensation is free — never pay a third party a percentage to do what a form and a letter accomplish. Travel insurance, however, is worth pricing deliberately. Policies from major insurers (regularly ranked in annual 'best travel insurance' comparisons each August) typically add $2,500 to $3,000 of baggage coverage for roughly $30 to $80 per trip, or bundled into annual policies. Premium credit cards often include baggage delay insurance ($300 to $500 for delay expenses after 6 to 12 hours) and lost-luggage coverage up to several thousand dollars, funded by nothing beyond the card you already use.
This is where AI travel booking agents earn their keep without any hard sell: a good agent flags baggage-inclusive fares at booking time, stores your receipts and PIR references automatically, tracks the 21-day loss-declaration deadline, and drafts the escalation letters citing the correct convention limits. The savings come from not missing deadlines and not accepting lowball offers — historically worth hundreds of dollars per incident — rather than from any fee-based claims service. If you book through an AI agent, check whether it archives confirmations and baggage tags; that paper trail is half the battle.
One honest caveat: no tool guarantees payment. Airlines retain discretion over 'reasonable' expenses, depreciation schedules, and exclusions for fragile or high-value items. The realistic outcome range for a well-documented lost-bag claim is $500 to $2,000; for a delayed bag, $50 to $300 in interim expenses. Treat anything above that as a bonus won through escalation, not an expectation.
Bottom Line
The definitive numbers for 2026: 1,519 SDRs (roughly $2,000 USD) per passenger is the international ceiling for lost, damaged, or delayed baggage under the Montreal Convention; US domestic claims track the same figure via carrier contracts and DOT oversight; Canadian APPR adds structured dispute resolution on top; and Indian consumer courts have demonstrated willingness to enforce awards like Rs 50,000 and Rs 1.19 lakh against non-compliant carriers. Your recovery depends less on the law than on execution — report immediately, document everything, cite the convention, escalate on schedule, and stack credit card or insurance coverage where available. Passengers who do all five reliably land near the top of the range; those who skip steps subsidize everyone else's payouts.