What to Do if Your British Airways Luggage is Delayed, Lost, or Damaged

Joanna Teljeur

By:  Joanna Teljeur

Last Updated:  20 November 2025

Reviewed by:  Anton Radchenko

If you’ve traveled with British Airways and your baggage was delayed, lost, or damaged, your rights are protected by an international treaty known as the Montreal Convention. Here’s what to do to get your delayed luggage back or get compensated for lost or damaged items.

What to Do if BA Delayed or Lost Your Luggage

If you’ve waited at the baggage carousel and your belongings haven’t arrived, here’s what to do:

1. First, check to see if British Airways has sent you a text or email. They will contact you to let you know if your bags didn’t make it onto your flight, and give you a report number to track your baggage.
2. If you haven’t received a message from the airline, and your baggage hasn’t arrived, then you should look for the British Airways Customer Service desk and file a Property Irregularity Report (PIR). Always keep a copy of the report and the PIR number, which is a 10-digit alpha-numeric code. 
3. Complete your customs declaration before you leave the airport and leave it with a British Airways agent.
4. If you have left the airport, use the baggage portal to file a missing baggage report and enter your delivery details.

You have 8 days from the date of your flight to file a lost baggage report.

British Airways says that most of their lost baggage is delivered within 72 hours, but you can always check the status of your baggage and update any of the details in the baggage portal.

Also, if you’re away from home, and you need to make purchases for essential items make sure you keep all the receipts so you can add them to your reimbursement or compensation claim.

Start your claim

If British Airways Damages Your Checked Bags

If your checked baggage or contents were damaged, make a report with British Airways before you leave the airport. If you realize your baggage has been damaged only after you leave the airport, you have 7 days to make a report.

1. Complete a Property Irregularity Report (PIR)
2. Keep a copy and the PIR number
3. Take photos of the damage. This will come in handy to support your damage claim

After you file a report, British Airways might offer you a replacement bag or repair services, so check with an agent before you buy anything new or pay for repairs.

Which British Airways Routes Have the Most Baggage Mishandling?

Based on AirAdvisor’s internal baggage-claim data, British Airways issues tend to appear most often on long-haul flights routed through London Heathrow (LHR). Heathrow handles an enormous volume of BA luggage every single day, and most problems happen during transfers, not on simple direct flights. When a flight arrives slightly behind schedule or the layover window is short, that’s when checked baggage has the greatest chance of being left behind.

The highest number of BA mishandled-baggage cases in our data came from passengers travelling between:

• Boston (BOS) and London Heathrow (LHR)
• Miami (MIA) and London Heathrow (LHR)
• San Diego (SAN) and London Heathrow (LHR)
• New York JFK (JFK) and London Heathrow (LHR)

These routes all funnel through Heathrow’s Terminal 5, where tight transfers and heavy traffic mean your luggage has to move through the system very quickly. This doesn’t mean every bag will be delayed, but these types of itineraries show a noticeably higher risk of bags being misrouted or arriving late.

If you’re flying BA on one of these high-traffic routes, it’s worth keeping essentials in your carry-on and taking a quick photo of your checked bag and baggage tag before you board. It speeds up the reporting and claims process dramatically if something goes wrong.

Filing Baggage Claims with British Airways

If you’ve flown to or from the United States with BA, your baggage rights are protected by the Montreal Convention. This international treaty requires airlines to compensate you for mishandled baggage up to roughly $2,080. To get compensated or reimbursed for essential purchases, you will have to file a claim on the BA site within a specific time frame, depending on what happened to your bags.

Whether your baggage was lost or damaged, you will need to submit the following information as part of your claim:

1. PIR number
2. Government or official photo ID
3. Flight information
4. Photos of the damage
5. Receipts

If you’re filing a damage claim, bear in mind that British Airways will not cover the cost of the following:

• Damage that occurred before bags were checked
• Regular wear and tear
• Small scratches, scuffs, or cuts
• Damage resulting from improper packing
• Fragile items
• Cash
• Jewelry
• Poorly designed or faulty luggage

If your baggage has been damaged by the US baggage inspection, you will see a note from the TSA inside your bags or attached to the outside. Use this information to file a claim with the TSA.

When to File Your Baggage Claim with BA

The table below shows you when to file a claim after you have submitted a PIR. Missing baggage is considered to be delayed for 21 days. If 21 days have passed, and your baggage still hasn’t been delivered, then you should begin the claim filing process.

What happens next

After you file your claim, you can track the status of it or update any details while you’re waiting to hear from British Airways.

The baggage claims process can take up to a few months. For this reason, it may be helpful to file claims with your insurance company as the reimbursement amounts could be more than the liability limits of British Airways.

If BA Ignores Your Baggage Claim

If you don’t get a response, follow up with customer service or escalate your case to the airline’s Customer Relations department, especially if their decision seems incomplete or unfair. British Airways is legally bound by the Montreal Convention for international flights, so you have every right to challenge an unjust denial. 

Keep copies of every email, receipt, and form you’ve submitted to them as these records are your strongest evidence if the dispute continues. And if the process feels stalled or overwhelming, you don’t have to handle it alone. AirAdvisor can step in to manage your baggage claim from start to finish, ensuring it’s sent correctly, escalated effectively, and resolved with the compensation you’re legally owed.

How AirAdvisor Has Helped Get British Airways Baggage Compensation

Here are two cases where our legal team helped recover baggage compensation for BA passengers flying from the United States.

Delayed Bag on a US - Europe Connection via Heathrow

Passenger: Melissa
Route: Boston (BOS) to London Heathrow (LHR) to Milan (MXP)
Issue: Bag missed the transfer at Heathrow and arrived several days late
Compensation: £1,150

Melissa was traveling through Heathrow on her way to Milan when her suitcase failed to make the onward connection. She bought a few changes of clothes and essential toiletries, but British Airways initially refused to reimburse the full amount, saying the items went “beyond what was necessary”.

AirAdvisor reviewed her receipts, checked the delay timeline, and built a claim under the Montreal Convention and BA’s own Terms of Carriage. We also highlighted gaps in BA’s baggage handling scans at Heathrow, which strengthened her case considerably.

Outcome: British Airways agreed to pay £1,150 to cover her essential purchases and inconvenience, and her bag was delivered to her hotel once it finally arrived.

Long-Haul Bag Delay on Arrival at Heathrow

Passenger: Daniel
Route: San Diego (SAN) to London Heathrow (LHR)
Issue: Bag arrived several days late
Compensation: £980

Daniel landed in London after a long-haul flight from San Diego, only to discover that his checked bag hadn’t made it. The bag arrived days later, but BA pushed back on reimbursing the full cost of the items he bought in the meantime.

AirAdvisor stepped in and obtained the flight’s baggage-loading and scanning records, showing that the delay was caused by mishandling under BA’s responsibility. We built a detailed claim referencing the correct sections of BA’s Conditions of Carriage and the Montreal Convention.

Outcome: British Airways paid £980 to cover Daniel’s emergency purchases while he waited for his suitcase.

Wearing the same clothes for days because your baggage was lost?If British Airways lost your checked luggage, they owe you!Start your claim now

Author:

Joanna Teljeur

Job/Position: Senior Editor & Content Lead

Joanna Teljeur is a senior editor and writer with 15+ years of experience in editorial leadership, journalism, and content development with a focus on consumer rights, aviation law, and public-interest reporting. Her work centers on transforming complex regulatory and legal topics into clear, accurate, and accessible content for international audiences.

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