Lost luggage and what now? Have you ever happened to come to the final destination, and your luggage from nowhere? The conveyor belt is spinning and spinning, and your luggage from nowhere. You stand, you watch, you hold your fists and you still hope that your luggage will appear. The rotating tape stops, and you do not have luggage in a brand new country, but only a bunch of questions in the head, what about now?
Damaged luggage
When arriving at the destination, when taking up the luggage, check in what condition your luggage came to the destination. If the luggage is damaged or has not even come to your destination, you must immediately report it to the airline you performed with the last flight. Log on to the Lost & Found, Arrival service window. The staff on the window will help you complete the application for damage. In the event that an injury is discovered later, the deadline for a written application is 7 days after arrival. In the event of a minor damage to your luggage, such as an abrasion or stain that occurred during transportation, the carrier will not be liable for any injuries.
Missed luggage
Most “missed” luggage are located in the same day, as most often it turns out that your luggage went to the next later flight and that you will get it within a couple of hours. What happens to your luggage can be checked through an international luggage search system on the Worldtracer website. Based on your reference number and your surname, you will see information about the luggage that is in the search phase.
When they find luggage, you will be notified as soon as possible. Usually the arrangement is to deliver your luggage to the address where you are staying. As long as you do not have luggage, you are entitled to a refund on the air carrier’s costs for the most urgent purchases (clothing, personal hygiene products, etc.). For proof of purchase, save all bills so that money can be returned to you.
Lost luggage
Luggage that does not arrive with you at the airport is initially treated as missed. Lost or missed luggage is found in most cases within 36 to 48 hours at one of the airports where you had transfers. 21 days is the time period in which your lost luggage can be found, if it is not found at that time, the luggage officially becomes lost. If your baggage does not arrive at this time, inform the air carrier immediately. By completing the application, you are entitled to compensation and reimbursement of costs in the amount of 1200 eur.
Our experience of lost luggage
With lost luggage, we (fortunately) met only once, on a trip to Morocco. Because it was a short flight, we said that we would not complicate and we prepared each of our own backpacks. As I mentioned, my backpack corresponds to the dimensions of the cabin baggage and I could take it with me on the plane, but I, despite the bad feeling, I preferred to put it under the plane. When we landed in Morocco, my backpack was nowhere, so we report our lost luggage at the window of the Alitalia airline. All the property I had at that moment was a laptop, a camera, a Lonely Planet, and a passport … In short, nothing useful. At that moment we have no other choice than to wait and go to our accommodation. The next day I checked on the Worldtracer website if there was anything new. It was recorded that the luggage was located in Rome, where we had a transfer. Soon after that, the airport notified the owner of the room where we slept, because at the time of reporting the lost luggage we also put on their number. We immediately called to the airport in Casablanca, where they confirmed that luggage was on the way, but that we must come to find it by ourselves. We wanted to luggage to be delivered to us where we would sleep that day, but they did not want to hear anything about it or that it was not possible. We were already tired of everything, so we had to sit in our car and drove to the airport to Casablanca which was two hours away, where I finally got my lost luggage back.
At the time when I was without luggage, we were looking for shopping centers in Rabat and the purchase of clothing proved to be a significant feat. We saved all bills from fuel, toll, clothes and cosmetics and attached them to the complaint. On returning home, we sincerely said that we forgot a bit of lost luggage, so we did not make the announcement until the 23rd day. 21 days is the time period during which we can claim a refund for lost luggage, so unfortunately I was not entitled to a refund.
Our tips
Before you deposit your luggage on a “check-in”, think about when you’ll see the luggage again. Although the chances of losing your luggage are quite small, it’s still worth considering the following options.
We always prepare a toothbrush, painkillers and clothes for the first day in a small backpack. Also we put some things in each others backpacks so that in the event that only one backpack is lost, we still have some things to wear. For longer trips it is also worth considering the size of a backpack. When I bought my second backpack, I chose one that meets the prescribed dimensions for hand luggage, so I can always have it with myself on the plane. It is also advisable to photograph it before luggage is held, so it is easier to find it in the event of a loss.
