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You arrive on vacation and you’re waiting for your bags to show up on the belt.
You wait.
And you wait.
And you wait some more.
And eventually you realize they’re not coming. Your bags have been lost, or at least delayed (I’ll explain the difference later).
Now what?
As frustrating as it can be, you shouldn’t panic, and you definitely shouldn’t yell at any of the airline employees who are on hand to help you. You may be about to enter a vortex of claims forms and phone calls that can feel like something out of a dystopian novel, but none of the people you interact with are directly at fault, so proceed with politeness.
The first thing you actually need to do, before you even leave the airport, is notify the airline that your bag didn’t show up.
After that, it’s a good idea to know your rights and to keep your paperwork in order. Here’s what to do if it happens to you.
Don’t panic if an airline loses your bag. But do file a report right away!
File a claim
The first thing you need to do is make sure all the other bags from your flight have arrived. You’re not going to get anywhere if you’re just being impatient and want to get to your hotel faster and have your bags delivered later. But once you’re certain your bags aren’t in the airport, you need to start the claims process.
“Make a report,” Suzanne Morrow, CEO of InsureMyTrip, told me. “Obviously, they ask you to describe your bag or bags, they collect your airline info, so you want to have everything handy,” like your flight number, departure, and any connecting airports and information about where you’re staying.
Morrow said an airline lost her family’s bags on a vacation they took a few years ago, and she found that the more information she was able to provide, the better.
Keep your receipts
The Department of Transportation requires airlines to reimburse passengers for “reasonable, verifiable, and actual incidental expenses” that a traveler incurs as a result of an airline losing track of their bag.
These are typically essentials like basic clothing and toiletries.
“Obviously, they’re not going to cover something if you go crazy,” Morrow said, so don’t go down to the luxury shops and buy a new designer bag, expecting the airline to pay for it.
But when the time comes for reimbursements, you’ll likely have to be able to prove what you spent.
“We went to the gift shop and bought toiletries and some other things. Keep all your receipts and everything you spend related to not having your luggage,” Morrow said.
Airlines are also required to refund baggage fees for luggage they mishandle.
Last week’s Cruising Altitude: Is it cheaper to buy a roundtrip ticket or two one-ways?
Stay in touch with your airline
Once you’ve filed a claim, you should keep in touch with your airline about updates and about what’s going to be needed for expense reimbursement once you are reunited with your luggage.
Each airline has a slightly different process, so it’s a good idea to talk to their representative when you make your report and check out the website’s lost luggage section to learn more about your carrier’s policy.
Use technology to help
Airlines are increasingly rolling out enhanced bag tracking tools. Many U.S. airlines now have Apple Find My capability integrated into their apps, meaning passengers can link AirTags with their reservations to help keep track of their bags.
U.S. airlines that have this capability include:
Weather delays, flight cancellations and a lot of lost luggage for Southwest customers at Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport in Phoenix on Dec. 28, 2022.
Reach out to your insurance
Once you’ve been reunited with your bags, or they’ve officially been declared lost, you should also get in touch with your insurance company. Travel insurance may be able to help, but Morrow said homeowners’ or renters’ insurance may also cover some costs associated with lost or delayed luggage.
She noted that insurance companies will usually only cover expenses over and above what the airline already covers, so it’s important to file all your expenses with the airline itself first.
After that, make sure you’re taking advantage of the most generous policies available to you.
“People can overinsure, but you’re not going to be able to make multiple claims on the same thing,” Morrow said. “If you did get double coverage for some reason, I would look to whoever has the least exclusions, the best benefits.”
Delayed vs lost bags
Colloquially, most people probably think of bags that don’t make it to where you’re going at the same time as you and bags that are well and truly mislaid as “lost,” but the DOT and international regulations draw a distinction between these two categories.
More details are available on the agency’s website, though the department doesn’t specify an exact timeline for when bags are considered delayed versus permanently lost.
According to the DOT, airlines are allowed to set their own policies on when a bag can be considered lost, which typically happens five to 14 days after the flight.
Once bags are considered lost, airlines are required to reimburse passengers up to $4,700 for domestic flights, and up to (approximately) $1,700 for international flights, based on the value of the items lost, though carriers are free to reimburse at higher amounts.
Zach Wichter is a travel reporter and writes the Cruising Altitude column for USA TODAY. He is based in New York and you can reach him at zwichter@usatoday.com.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: What to do when your airline loses your bag (and how to get paid)