How Long Do You Have to Claim for Damaged Luggage? The 7-Day Rule Explained

You get home, unpack, and only then notice the crack running along the side of your suitcase. The first question most people ask isn't how much they can claim. It's whether they've already left it too late.

The good news: probably not. The less good news: damaged luggage claims run on some of the shortest deadlines in air travel, and airlines apply them strictly.

Here's exactly how long you have, what counts as reporting, and what to do if the clock has run further than you'd like.

The Short Answer: 7 Days, in Writing

For checked baggage damaged on an international flight, the Montreal Convention gives you 7 days from the day you received your bag to complain to the airline in writing. This applies to flights to and from the UK and across the EU, whichever airline you flew with.

That 7-day window is the legal deadline, and it's the one that matters most. If you miss it, the airline is entitled to presume the bag was delivered in good condition, and it becomes your job to prove otherwise. That's a much weaker position to argue from.

Ideally, though, you shouldn't get anywhere near day seven.

Report at the Airport If You Can

If you spot the damage at baggage reclaim, go straight to the baggage desk and ask for a Property Irregularity Report (PIR). It's the strongest piece of timing evidence you can have, because it shows the damage was identified before you ever left the airport.

You'll usually need your boarding pass, your baggage tag, and the suitcase itself so staff can see the damage.

One thing worth being clear on: the PIR is not your claim. It's evidence for your claim. You still need to submit a formal written claim to the airline afterwards, and the 7-day rule applies to that written complaint. Plenty of people file a PIR, assume the airline will be in touch, and quietly run out of time.

If you want the full process from start to finish, we've covered it here: Airline Damaged Your Luggage? What to Do and How to Claim Compensation

Noticed the Damage at Home? You're Still in Time

Missing the airport desk doesn't end your claim. Tight connection, exhausted after a long-haul flight, or the damage simply wasn't visible until you unpacked — it happens constantly, and the rules allow for it.

As long as you notify the airline in writing within 7 days of receiving the bag, your claim is validly reported. Use the airline's baggage claims portal or their claims email address, and include your flight details, baggage tag number, clear photos of the damage, and a short description of what's broken.

Put it in writing, always. A phone call doesn't preserve the deadline, and you'll have nothing to point to later if the airline disputes when you reported it.

What If You've Missed the 7 Days?

A late claim isn't automatically dead, but be realistic: the legal presumption now works against you, and the airline can reject the claim on timing alone.

It can still be worth submitting, especially if you have strong evidence — photos with timestamps from shortly after the flight, a witness, or an older photo showing the bag intact before the trip. Some airlines will consider late claims as goodwill even when they're not obliged to.

The other route is travel insurance. Many policies cover luggage damaged in transit, and their claim windows are often longer than 7 days — but they have deadlines of their own, frequently 28 to 45 days. If the airline route has closed, check your policy sooner rather than later. We've compared the two routes in detail here: Does Travel Insurance Cover Damaged Luggage?

The Other Deadlines Worth Knowing

• 7 days — your written complaint for damaged baggage must reach the airline, counted from the day you received the bag.
• 21 days — if your bag was delayed rather than damaged, it's generally treated as lost once 21 days have passed without delivery.
• 2 years — the absolute limit under the Montreal Convention for bringing a court claim against the airline. After that, the right to compensation is extinguished entirely.

There's also the airline's own pace to factor in. Most respond to a complete claim within 14 to 28 days, but if they come back asking for a repair quote, proof of value, or a damage report, the clock effectively pauses until you answer. In practice, how quickly you respond to those requests is what decides how quickly the claim closes.

And if you're wondering what a properly filed claim is actually worth, compensation is capped at roughly 1,288 SDR per passenger, around £1,300. We've broken down realistic amounts here: How Much Compensation for Damaged Luggage?

Final Thoughts

Deadlines are the single most common reason otherwise valid damaged luggage claims fail. Not the damage, not the paperwork — timing.

The fix is simple: report first, argue the details later. A short written complaint sent within 7 days, even a basic one with a couple of photos attached, preserves your entire claim. Everything else — quotes, reports, negotiations over the amount — can follow afterwards.

BaggageRepairs.com is a professional luggage repair and assessment service. We carry out physical repairs at our UK workshop and provide independent online damage evaluations for customers worldwide, used in airline claims, insurance submissions, and dispute resolution.