~€1,500 per passenger for lost or damaged baggage
Baggage claims are limited to 1,519 SDR — approximately €1,500 in 2026. That is the maximum per passenger, not per bag. Example calculation and what you can actually claim.
Under Art. 22(2) of the Montreal Convention, carriers' liability for baggage is limited to 1,519 SDR per passenger. Translated to euros: approximately €1,500 in 2026 (the SDR exchange rate floats around €1 = 1.01 SDR).
SDR — what is that? Special Drawing Rights, an international currency unit of the IMF. The SDR rate is set daily based on a basket of world currencies. For your claim: look up the SDR/EUR rate on the date of the damaging event (not the payout date) — that's the legal calculation date.
What the limit means in practice:
- Lost baggage: compensation up to ~€1,500 per passenger — including contents (clothing, shoes, toiletries, electronics).
- Damaged baggage: repair or replacement up to ~€1,500.
- Delayed baggage: reasonable necessary costs during delay (clothing, toiletries) — up to ~€1,500.
Example calculation (lost baggage):
- Suitcase: €180
- 2 weeks of summer clothing: €420
- Shoes (sneakers + flip-flops): €180
- Toiletries: €60
- Electronics charger kit: €40
- Souvenirs for family: €70
- Total claim: €950 — well within the limit.
Tips to maximise the claim:
- Keep purchase receipts for contents — especially electronics and designer items. Without receipts a "market value discount" of 30-50% often applies.
- Pre-departure photos are gold. Photograph the suitcase contents laid out on a table before leaving.
- Travel insurance can top up: insurance can cover above €1,500 (within policy) — claim separately.
- Special declaration: for valuables (laptop, jewellery) you can make a "special interest declaration" at check-in — this raises the limit for those items, usually at extra cost.
Lost or damaged baggage? Claim up to €1,500
We draft a formal damage-claim letter under the Montreal Convention (Art. 17, 19, 22). Send-ready PDF — limit ~€1,500 per passenger.
Start — €9,99