What to do in case of lost baggage
How to behave in the unfortunate event of loss of baggage
After hours of travel we have finally reached our destination, you can't wait to reach your hotel or your sweet home if you are returning. You approach the baggage belt, patiently wait for your travel companion to come out while you see the passengers of your own flight collect their suitcase and hurry out of the airport. Anxiety begins to rise because the suitcases on the belt are less and less but yours still does not come out until you realize that your suitcase is unfortunately not there.
In such a situation, especially if you are at the beginning of a journey, the world falls on you and you start thinking about the photos you will take during your vacation always wearing the same dirty shirt. Then complain about not having put a spare part in your carry-on baggage and you will have to turn the underpants you wear from the day before.
Stop for a moment, take a deep breath and do the only useful thing to do in these cases.. go to the lost and fund office!
Take out your boarding pass and the receipt of your baggage, that annoying ticket provided at check-in which is essential in case of loss, in fact it is only through the code printed on the receipt that the lost luggage office can try to trace your baggage.
Once at the lost baggage office, you must provide the staff with a baggage receipt, an identity document and a detailed description of the suitcase, in this regard it is good practice to take a photo of it before departure in order to show it and simplify any identification. At this point, after the necessary checks, they will be able to tell you if your baggage has been traced and is delayed or has been lost.
In case of delayed baggage, the company will undertake in the following hours or in any case with the first useful flight, to make it arrive at its destination and to return it by courier to an address indicated by you thus limiting the inconvenience.
If, on the other hand, it is not possible to trace the baggage from the check, it must be considered lost and in this case the complaint will be started by filling out the PIR form (Property Irregularity Report) which contains as much information as possible to trace it. Airlines often use World Tracer , a digital tracking system made available to users that allows you to monitor the location of your baggage through their website.
In most cases the baggage is found within 2 days and returned in the same way as a delayed baggage. If instead it should not be found within 21 days , you are officially entitled to compensation for a limit of approximately 1200 € or 20 € for each Kg , so it is essential to detail the content inside the suitcase and its value and possibly demonstrate it with a photo that is always better to do before closing the baggage.
The Montreal Convention establishes what the rights of travelers are in case of loss of baggage and, in addition to the compensation of about € 1200, that the airline that adheres to this convention, provides a kit of goods basic necessities and good coupons to buy spare parts. All the expenses that were necessary to limit the inconvenience of loss of baggage during the journey must be demonstrated through the payment receipts to be kept in order to be entitled to the respective compensation.
If you think that the amount of compensation provided for these cases should not cover the value of the contents of the baggage, it is better to take out a dedicated insurance before departure to avoid, in addition to the inconvenience of loss, also insufficient compensation.