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If the suitcase does not come, you should report the loss as soon as possible
Photo: Johan Willner/Johner RF/Getty Images
One last bag is still circling lonely on the baggage carousel.
The monitor is already announcing the next flight, and the luggage will be handed out right here.
And one suspects: This time the suitcase really didn't come along.
And so begins the search, the fight for compensation - and the question of where to get a toothbrush from now.
1. Report the loss
If possible, you should report the loss immediately.
At the so-called »Lost and Found Desk« at the airport you can get the relevant form, the »Property Irregularity Report (PIR)«.
Some airlines even have their own baggage tracing at the airport.
Most airlines initially assume that the luggage is not lost but rather delayed – i.e. it can be found and forwarded.
The loss report should go to the airline within seven days at the latest, advises Julia Zeller from the Bavarian consumer center.
This way you can assert possible claims for reimbursement.
It is usually enough to fill out an online form on the airline's website, says Zeller.
However, it is also possible to report the loss in writing using a form.
To report the loss, you need information from the boarding pass and the luggage sticker that you received when you checked in.
Extra tip: In order to be able to describe the piece of luggage as well as possible, it can help to take a photo of it in advance.
2. Get a replacement
If you have to travel on and don't have any belongings in hand, most airlines offer a kind of emergency kit that contains the essentials.
In addition, the airline must pay for the costs of necessary purchases at the holiday destination.
“Travellers have a so-called duty to mitigate damage,” explains Peter Lassek, a lawyer at the Hesse consumer advice center.
Since it is still unclear at this point in time whether the luggage will only arrive late or has disappeared completely, those affected should not buy the entire contents of their suitcase - let alone luxury items - but only the bare minimum at first.
You can ask the airlines how high the flat rates are for this.
You can also ask the airline for an advance or submit the bills later.
According to Lassek, customers should always keep the receipts for the goods they have bought so that they can present them.
3. Wait for feedback from the airline
The airlines are now trying to bring the luggage to the actual destination airport.
How you find out about this as a traveler is handled differently by the airlines:
For example, Eurowings writes on its website that passengers are contacted and the luggage that is found is then forwarded by courier.
Alternatively, you can pick it up yourself at the airport.
Until then, you can also follow the search online.
Easyjet and Ryanair also have portals for this purpose.
Here you can adjust delivery addresses if necessary, for example for onward journeys.
4. Claiming damages
If the luggage is not returned to its owner within three weeks, it is considered lost.
You are now entitled to a replacement.
Travelers have to prove specifically what was in the suitcase, explains Zeller.
The current value is reimbursed - i.e. the purchase price minus the wear and tear over the years - or you receive a flat rate.
The payment for the case replacement is capped.
The airline is not liable for valuable items such as jewelry or cameras.
According to the consumer advice centers, the limit is usually between 1400 and 1600 euros.
If you are traveling with valuable items, it is better to transport them in your hand luggage.
Baggage insurance can also be useful.
If you're lucky and the luggage turns up again, holidaymakers have 21 days after the day of receipt to contact the airline again and request a refund for costs incurred as a result of the delay, according to the consumer advice center in Hesse.
In the case of package tours, both the airline and the tour operator must be informed.
Depending on the airline, it takes a different amount of time for the payments to be made, reports Julia Zeller.
There are no legal deadlines.
According to an evaluation by the Flightright portal, German airlines often delay the refund of tickets in the event of flight cancellations - refunds for lost luggage were not collected, but the evaluation should still be a bad sign.
Lufthansa, TUIfly, Eurowings and Condor ended up in the lower places in the evaluation.
Travelers should therefore store all information on the form to avoid queries - for example, store their account details directly.
5. Enforce Claims
If an airline does not respond, both consumer advice centers recommend travelers to write to them and set a deadline of 14 days.
"Theory and practice sometimes differ greatly when it comes to demanding rights," says Jan Philipp Stupnanek from the consumer advice center in North Rhine-Westphalia.
His advice: You should keep or document the correspondence and telephone calls that you exchange with the airline.
This can help when travelers seek outside help.
These can be found, for example, with a lawyer, the arbitration board for public transport (SÖP), consumer advocates or portals such as Fairplane, EUclaim, Flightright or Airhelp, which work on a commission basis or with service fees.
Incidentally, you can also use the Flugärger page of the NRW consumer advice center to test whether you can assert claims in other cases of damage.
bul/dpa
