What to Do if LOT Loses or Damages Your Baggage: An Expert Guide

Written By Joanna Teljeur

Last Updated: April 18, 2025

Did you know you could receive up to approximately £1,600 (€1,920) in compensation if LOT mishandled your baggage on an international flight? It’s true! 

According to an international treaty, passengers whose luggage was delayed, lost, or damaged are entitled to this amount including reimbursement for essential purchases. Keep reading to learn what steps you should take to report your baggage issue to LOT and get repaid for the inconvenience.

What to Do if LOT Delayed or Lost Your Baggage

If you don’t see your belongings on the LOT baggage carousel, you will need to take the following steps.

1. Make a report, called a Property Irregularity Report. It’s best to do this before leaving the airport, but you can also complete this step online using LOT’s Missing Baggage Report Form.
2. Follow the prompts and provide answers about your flight and what happened to your baggage. Also, provide a delivery address so LOT can deliver your items once they are located.
3. Keep your LOT PIR Number. You will be given a number, usually called a PIR number. Keep this close by so you can track the status of your luggage.
4. Purchase necessary items like clothing and toiletries, if needed, just remember to retain the receipts for reimbursement.

Most baggage is returned within 24 hours, but if 5 days pass without your luggage being delivered, complete the baggage inventory form. Then, send a copy of the completed form to LOT in an email addressed to: poszukiwanie.bagazu@lot.pl  

If your baggage is returned, you have 21 days to file a claim for reimbursement of any essential purchases. However, if your bag doesn’t arrive, you will have to wait until LOT declares your luggage officially lost or until 21 days have passed to file a claim for compensation.

Find out if you are owed compensation for a mishandled baggageCheck Your Flight

LOT Damaged Baggage

If your checked bags sustained damage on your flight, you will need to first create a Property Irregularity Report (PIR) before you leave the airport. Be sure not to skip this step! If you do not notice the damage until after you arrive home, then you can also start the report by using the LOT Damaged Baggage form, but remember, you have 7 days to complete this step.

As with delayed luggage, you must keep a copy of the Property Irregularity Report (PIR) to use during the claim process. 

LOT Baggage Claim Filing Deadlines

Be sure to submit your compensation claim within the following timeframes to avoid having your claim rejected.

Your Passenger Rights for Mishandled Baggage

On international flights, passenger rights are protected by the Montreal Convention; an international treaty that requires airlines, like LOT, to provide up to roughly £1,600 (€1,920) in compensation, for delayed, lost, and damaged baggage.

How to Submit a Baggage Mishandling Claim with LOT

Before you begin, collect the Property Irregularity Report and all related documents. Then navigate to the LOT baggage claim form. Once you’re there, just add your information to all the required fields. Also, be prepared to provide details about the following:

Claims for Damaged Baggage

• A full description of the sustained damage
• A copy of your PIR
• Boarding pass, ticket reference number, and other flight-related information
• A certificate stating that your belongings are beyond repair or a statement describing the value of your items
• Receipts for essential purchases
• A list of the contents of your baggage and their value with receipts

Claims for Lost Baggage

• A copy of your PIR
• A description of your luggage and the contents
• Travel documents and related information
• Receipts for expenses

You have up to 2 years to file a baggage claim for lost items.

How to Prevent Baggage Loss and Damage

Here are a few tips for avoiding lost and damaged baggage in the future.

1. Remove old barcodes and tags from previous flights.
2. Add baggage labels. Add your name, email, and phone number to both the outside and inside of your bags.
3. Take photos of your suitcases. Photograph the contents as well as the exterior. This will help the airline locate your items if they’re missing. If your luggage is damaged, you will have a way of proving what it looked like prior to checking it with the carrier. You will also have an account of what you packed, so you can better itemise the contents as part of your report and claim.
4. Leave enough time between connections. Ideally, you should allow between 1.5 and 2 hours so your bags have time to be loaded. 
5. Check-in early so your bags have time to make it to your aircraft.
6. Don’t overpack! Overstuffed bags are more likely to be damaged during the loading process

AirAdvisor can Help

Need help with a baggage compensation claim? Let us help! We’ve been helping passengers since 2017 get the payouts they deserve. Our legal team can contact the airline and submit a claim on your behalf, so you don’t have to! Best of all, we only get paid if we win your case.

Submit Your Claim