If your checked bag does not come off the belt at a London airport, report it to your airline at its baggage desk inside the reclaim hall before you walk out, and keep the written report it gives you, often called a Property Irregularity Report or PIR. Then claim in writing within the deadlines: 21 days from getting a delayed bag back, and seven days for a damaged bag.
The airport does not handle your bag; your airline does, from check-in to arrival. That matters because the airline is the one that has to find it, deliver it and pay for what it cost you. The rules it works under, for most international journeys, come from the Montreal Convention, an international treaty that is part of UK law. The UK Civil Aviation Authority, the regulator, explains them in plain terms, and this page follows what it and the Convention say.
Our guides to arriving at Heathrow and arriving at Gatwick cover the rest of the arrivals process. This page starts at the moment the belt stops.
The rules that decide a baggage claim
- Report
- At the airline's baggage desk in the reclaim hall, before you leave it
- Delayed bag
- Written complaint within 21 days of the bag being returned to you (Montreal Convention, Article 31)
- Damaged bag
- Written complaint as soon as you find the damage, at the latest within 7 days of receiving the bag (Article 31)
- Lost bag
- Treated as lost if the airline admits it, or if it has not arrived 21 days after it should have (Article 17). The CAA advises claiming for lost items in writing within 7 days
- Liability limit
- 1,519 Special Drawing Rights per passenger, in force in the UK since 7 February 2025. About £1,530 at the IMF rate of 6 November 2026
- Court deadline
- Legal action must start within two years (Article 35)
- Who to claim from
- The airline. On a journey with several airlines, any of them, but usually the last one
At the belt: when to stop waiting
Bags come off in no fixed order, and a belt can pause for several minutes before the last load. Heathrow says the information screens show which belt your flight's bags will arrive on. When the belt has stopped and the other passengers from your flight have gone, it is time to act.
The Civil Aviation Authority says bags are most often lost or delayed when the passenger has changed planes on the way, or changed airlines. If you had a tight connection, the bag may simply be on the next flight.
Do not walk out of the reclaim hall to look for help. Heathrow says that once you have left the baggage reclaim hall you will not be able to return. The airline desks are inside it, behind you, and it is much easier to report the bag there than by telephone from your hotel.
Reporting the bag, and what the report is for
Heathrow says many airlines have a desk in the baggage reclaim hall where you can report a missing bag and get a report. Gatwick's advice is the same in substance: hold luggage that is lost or delayed coming off the aircraft is a matter for your airline. If the desk is unstaffed, or you have already left, call your airline instead, using the contact on its website.
Expect to be asked for your bag tag number, your flight, a description of the bag and an address and telephone number in the UK where it can be delivered. You should leave with a written report and a reference number. The CAA tells passengers to keep a copy of the Property Irregularity Report. You use the reference to track the search, and you will need it for any claim. Heathrow adds that on an international journey the airline will also ask you to complete a customs form.
- Have your baggage tag stub ready: it is usually stuck to your boarding pass or passport cover.
- Describe the bag precisely: colour, make, size, hard or soft, any straps or ribbons, and one or two things that are inside.
- Give a delivery address you will actually be at, with dates if you are moving between hotels.
- Ask how the airline will contact you, and photograph the report before you leave the desk.
A UK telephone number helps the courier reach you; our guide to UK SIM cards and eSIMs explains how to get one on arrival.
While you wait: essentials and receipts
When your airline finds the bag, Heathrow says, it will usually courier it to where you are staying. Sometimes it will ask you to collect it from the airport instead. Heathrow says not to come back unless the airline has told you to, and to bring proof of arrival and identity, because you may have to go through security. Collection there was between 06:00 and 22:00 when we read the page in November 2026, though that can change.
Meanwhile you need things to wear and wash with. The CAA says most airlines will reimburse you for the bare essentials you have to buy while a bag is delayed, such as toiletries, underwear and laundry costs, and that some airlines pay a fixed daily rate. Keep every receipt. The CAA also notes that airlines may pay less when a bag is delayed on your return home, because you have your own things there.
Ask the desk what your airline allows before you shop. Airlines set their own policies on interim expenses. Knowing yours before you buy saves an argument later, and buying modest, genuinely necessary items is what the CAA describes as being covered.
If you are travelling with medication in the missing bag, that is a different kind of emergency. Our page on pharmacies and minor illness in London explains what a pharmacist can and cannot supply.
The time limits, set out in law
The Montreal Convention is in Schedule 1B to the Carriage by Air Act 1961. Its deadlines are strict, and the Convention says that if no complaint is made in time, no action lies against the airline except in the case of fraud. Every complaint has to be in writing.
| Situation | Deadline | Where it comes from |
|---|---|---|
| Bag delayed, then delivered | Written complaint within 21 days of the date the bag was placed at your disposal | Article 31(2) |
| Bag damaged | Complain as soon as you discover it, at the latest 7 days from receiving the bag | Article 31(2) |
| Items missing from a delivered bag, or bag lost | CAA advice: write to the airline within 7 days | CAA guidance |
| Bag not arrived 21 days after it should have | You can treat it as lost and enforce your rights | Article 17(3) |
| Going to court | Within 2 years of arrival, or of the date the aircraft should have arrived | Article 35 |
The 21-day clock for a delayed bag starts when you get the bag back, not when it went missing. A bag that turns up after four days still gives you three weeks from that day to send your claim for the shopping you did meanwhile. Do not wait for the airline to invite one.
How much the airline has to pay
The Convention caps an airline's liability for baggage at a sum in Special Drawing Rights, a unit set by the International Monetary Fund from a basket of currencies. The cap is reviewed every five years. The UK certified the current figure of 1,519 SDR per passenger in an Order that came into force on 7 February 2025. At the IMF's rate on 6 November 2026, one SDR was worth about £1.01, so the cap was a little over £1,500. The CAA's own page still describes the maximum as "around £1000".
That is a ceiling, not an entitlement. The CAA says it would be very rare for anyone to receive the maximum, that you have to show what the bag and its contents were worth with receipts, card records or other proof, and that airlines do not pay "new for old": they value items by their age. The cap applies to each passenger.
The CAA also says that airlines do not normally accept knock-on losses from a delay, such as missing the start of a cruise because you waited a day for a bag; recovering those means going to court if the airline refuses. The Convention lets you raise the cap only by making a "special declaration of interest" when you check the bag in, and paying any extra charge.
If the bag arrives damaged
Report damage at the airport if you can see it there, at the same desk, and get a report. The CAA says a report is no guarantee the airline will accept the claim, and that you must also put in a written claim within seven days. If it accepts, the airline may pay for a repair or give you a replacement bag rather than cash.
The Convention excuses the airline where the damage came from a defect in the bag itself, and it treats hand luggage differently: for bags you kept with you, the airline is liable only if the damage was its fault or its staff's. Photograph the damage before you unpack, and keep the bag until the claim is settled.
Several airlines, travel insurance, and things lost elsewhere
If your journey used two or more airlines, the CAA says you can claim from any of them, but the last airline usually handles it, so start there. That is also the airline whose desk you will be standing at in London.
The CAA says it might be better to claim on travel insurance, because airlines may not pay out the true cost of a lost, delayed or damaged bag. It points out that policies have an excess, typically around £40, and their own claim deadlines. Our guide to travel insurance for the UK covers what a policy usually includes.
Something left on the aircraft is the airline's lost property, not a baggage claim. Something lost in the terminal goes to the airport's lost property office, and something left on a train or bus into London goes to TfL lost property. If the airline will not settle, our page on how to complain in Britain explains the routes for escalating.
Before your next flight: what helps
The CAA's advice is simple: label your bag, and put your name, address and email address inside it too, in case the outside tag comes off. A photograph of the bag and its contents on your phone makes the report quicker and the claim easier to prove. Carry a change of clothes, medication and anything valuable or irreplaceable in your hand luggage.
If you are flying home from London and worry about the same thing happening, our guide to departure day in London covers the hours before the flight, and what happens if you miss your flight covers the other common disaster. For a cancelled flight, see if your flight is cancelled at Heathrow.
Frequently asked questions
What should I do if my luggage does not arrive at Heathrow?
Report it to your airline at its desk in the baggage reclaim hall before you leave, and keep the missing bag report and reference number. Heathrow says you cannot return to the reclaim hall once you have left it. If no one is at the desk, call your airline.
How long do I have to claim for a delayed bag?
Under the Montreal Convention the written complaint must reach the airline within 21 days of the date the bag was returned to you. For a damaged bag the limit is seven days from receiving it. Missing either deadline normally ends the claim.
When is a delayed bag treated as lost?
When the airline admits it is lost, or when it has still not arrived 21 days after the date it should have. From then on the Montreal Convention lets you claim as for a lost bag, up to the liability limit.
How much compensation can I get for a lost bag?
Up to 1,519 Special Drawing Rights per passenger, a little over £1,500 at the November 2026 exchange rate, but only for what you can show the bag and its contents were worth. The CAA says payments near the maximum are very rare and items are valued by age.
Will the airline pay for clothes and toiletries while my bag is delayed?
The CAA says most airlines reimburse the bare essentials, such as toiletries, underwear and laundry, and some pay a daily rate. Keep all receipts and include them in your written claim within 21 days of getting the bag back.
Sources
- UK Civil Aviation Authority - Lost, delayed or damaged baggage (checked November 2026)
- legislation.gov.uk - Carriage by Air Act 1961, Schedule 1B (Montreal Convention), Articles 17, 22, 31 and 35 (checked November 2026)
- legislation.gov.uk - The Carriage by Air (Revision of Limits of Liability under the Montreal Convention) Order 2025, article 3 (checked November 2026)
- International Monetary Fund - SDRs per currency unit and currency units per SDR (checked November 2026)
- Heathrow Airport - Lost baggage (checked November 2026)
- Heathrow Airport - Baggage reclaim (checked November 2026)
- London Gatwick - Lost property and lost or delayed luggage (checked November 2026)