EU261 Rights Independent

Current position

Your rights have not changed yet. The reform is now law — Regulation (EU) 2026/2202, published 2 October 2026 — but it applies only from 23 October 2027. It keeps the three-hour threshold and the €250–€600 amounts. What changes in 2027 →

Checked

Montreal Convention

Your baggage was delayed, damaged or lost

One of the most common mix-ups. EU261 is about delayed people; baggage is a separate treaty with its own rules and its own tight clock.

Checked against its sources

The short answer

This is not EU261. Baggage is covered by the Montreal Convention, with a different limit and a much shorter deadline to report it.

The one thing to know: Complain to the airline in writing within 7 days of getting a damaged bag back, or within 21 days of a delayed bag being returned. Miss that window and, under Article 31(4) of the Convention, no action lies against the airline unless it acted fraudulently.

How it actually works

Regulation 261 deals with delayed, cancelled and bumped passengers. Bags fall under the Montreal Convention of 1999, to which the EU is a party, and Regulation (EC) No 2027/97, which applies the Convention's rules to EU airlines, including on domestic flights within a single Member State. The UK is also a party to the Convention.

The limit
The airline's liability for destruction, loss, damage or delay of baggage is capped at 1,519 Special Drawing Rights per passenger MC Art 22(2). ICAO raised it from 1,288 SDR on 28 December 2024, an increase of about 18%. At the IMF's rate on 5 October 2026 that is about €1,835 or £1,555, and the value moves daily. The cap is per passenger, not per bag.
A ceiling, not a tariff
You get your proven loss up to the cap, not the cap itself. In Walz (C-63/09, 2010) the Court of Justice held that the limit covers material and non-material damage together, so distress does not sit on top of it. To insure above the cap, make a special declaration of interest at check-in and pay any supplement.
Who has to prove what
For loss of or damage to checked bags the airline is liable without proof of fault, unless the damage came from a defect in the bag itself MC Art 17(2). For delay, it escapes liability if it proves it took all reasonable measures MC Art 19. For cabin bags, you must show its fault.
The tight deadlines
Damaged bag: complain in writing within 7 days of receiving it. Delayed bag: within 21 days of it being placed at your disposal MC Art 31(2). Every complaint must be in writing Art 31(3). A bag that never arrives counts as lost after 21 days Art 17(3); the Convention sets no complaint deadline for loss, but a written claim at once removes any argument.
The airport report counts
In Finnair v Fennia (C-258/16, 2018) the Court held that a complaint typed into the airline's system by its agent satisfies the written requirement, if you could check and correct it before the deadline. Ask for a copy of the property irregularity report and check it.
Keep receipts
You claim for the actual reasonable cost of essentials bought while your bag was missing, up to the cap. Keep every receipt and the property irregularity report from the airport.
See what you’re owed instead →

No claims service can help where no compensation is due — anyone who says otherwise is selling. Your care and refund rights still stand.

What to put in the written claim

  1. Your name, booking reference, flight number and date, and the property irregularity report reference.
  2. What happened: delayed (with the date it came back), damaged (with photos), or not returned.
  3. An itemised list of what you claim, with receipts: essentials bought during a delay, repair quotes, or the value of lost contents.
  4. The legal basis: Articles 17, 19 and 22 of the Montreal Convention, applied by Regulation 2027/97.
  5. Payment details, and a date for a reply.

You can claim against the airline you booked with or the one that operated the flight, if they differ. If your flight was also delayed or cancelled, an EU261 claim for that runs separately.

The two-year limit for going to court runs from the date of arrival, or the date the aircraft should have arrived MC Art 35. That is a uniform rule, not the national limits on our time-limits page, which apply to EU261 claims.

What changes from 23 October 2027

Regulation (EU) 2026/2202 also amends Regulation 2027/97. The Convention's limits and deadlines stay as they are; the changes are about making complaints easier, and they apply from 23 October 2027.

  • A common complaint form. Every EU airport with commercial passenger traffic must offer it in the baggage delivery area, and airlines must offer a form on their websites and apps. The date you submit the form counts as the filing date under Article 31(2) and (3), even if the airline asks for more information later new Art 6(4) Reg 2027/97.
  • Clearer information. Airlines must give a summary of baggage liability, including the deadlines and the option of a special declaration of interest, at every point of sale, and the standard notice is rewritten new Art 6(1), Annex.
  • Mobility equipment. Passengers with disabilities or reduced mobility can make a special declaration of interest on wheelchairs and other mobility equipment free of charge new Art 6a.

The full reform explained → The UK is not affected by the reform; the Convention itself applies there unchanged.

What to do now

  1. Report it before you leave the airport — get the property irregularity report and photograph the bag and any damage. The full checklist →
  2. Write to the airline within 7 days (damage) or 21 days (delay), with receipts. Use the template →
  3. Give them 28 days. Baggage sits outside Regulation 261, so check whether the national enforcement body takes it; otherwise use an alternative dispute resolution scheme or the small-claims court.
  4. Mind the two-year court deadline — Montreal sets it, not the national limits. See the EU261 limits →

Questions

Your baggage was delayed, damaged or lost: am I owed compensation?

This is not EU261. Baggage is covered by the Montreal Convention, with a different limit and a much shorter deadline to report it.

How much can I claim for a delayed or lost bag?

Your proven loss, up to 1,519 Special Drawing Rights per passenger, the limit in force since 28 December 2024. That is a ceiling, not a fixed payment: you get what you can show you lost, including non-material damage, but not more than the limit unless you made a special declaration of interest at check-in.

What are the deadlines?

A written complaint within 7 days of receiving a damaged bag, or within 21 days of a delayed bag being placed at your disposal (Article 31). If the airline does not settle, court proceedings must start within two years of arrival (Article 35).

When does a delayed bag count as lost?

When the airline admits it is lost, or 21 days after the date it should have arrived (Article 17(3)). From then you can claim for the contents as lost, up to the same limit.

How do I claim it?

Report it at the airport, then send the airline a written claim with receipts, within the deadlines. If it refuses or ignores you, escalate through an alternative dispute resolution scheme if the airline belongs to one, or the small-claims court.