Roughly 1 in every 200 checked bags goes astray at some point in transit. Most are returned within 48 hours. Some take weeks. A small fraction — about 5% globally — are never reunited with their owner. Whether your bag is in the first group or the last is largely a function of what you do in the first hour.
This is the playbook.
Step 1: Don't leave the baggage claim area
Before you exit baggage claim, find the airline's baggage service office. Every major airline has one in or directly adjacent to the claim hall. You must file your delayed-baggage report before leaving the airport — many airlines won't accept a report filed after you've passed the customs/exit point, or will hold it against your eventual compensation claim.
Step 2: File the Property Irregularity Report (PIR)
This is the form that creates the official paper trail. The agent will ask you for:
- Your baggage tag receipt (the sticker the agent gave you at check-in)
- Your boarding pass and ID
- A description of the bag (color, brand, distinguishing features, contents)
- Your local address while traveling and your home address
- A phone number that works in the country you're in
You'll be issued a file reference number (sometimes called a "PIR number"). Photograph it. Email it to yourself. This is the single most important piece of information for the next 90 days.
Step 3: Use the airline's tracking tool
Most major airlines (Air Canada, Delta, United, British Airways, Lufthansa, etc.) use a global system called WorldTracer that lets you check status online with your file reference number. Bookmark the link. Check it twice a day for the first week.
Step 4: Claim your immediate expenses
If your luggage is delayed and you're away from home, most airlines will reimburse "reasonable" interim expenses — toiletries, a change of clothes, sometimes a phone charger. Keep every receipt. Submit them with your claim. Don't expect luxury reimbursement; expect Walmart-tier essentials.
Step 5: Know your rights
If your bag is officially declared lost (typically after 21 days), you're entitled to compensation under the Montreal Convention — currently up to about 1,288 SDR (roughly $1,700 USD) per passenger for international travel. For domestic Canadian flights, the Canadian Air Passenger Protection Regulations apply with similar limits.
This is a maximum, not a guarantee. Airlines pay based on documented value. Without receipts, expect a fraction.
Step 6: What about bags that show up… without a tag?
Here's the part most people don't think about: airlines have warehouses full of unclaimed luggage. The number-one reason these bags never make it home isn't theft — it's that nobody can identify the owner. The paper baggage tag fell off, the airline barcode was destroyed, and there's no contact info inside or outside the bag.
This is exactly the gap NFC recovery tags fill. A small Lochtag attached to the strap or lock of your bag means anyone — an honest fellow traveler, a baggage handler, a TSA agent — can tap their phone to it and get straight to a contact form that emails you. No app, no phone number visible, no privacy compromise.
The 10-day checklist
- Day 0: File PIR before leaving the airport. Get reference number.
- Day 1: Check WorldTracer or airline tracker. Buy essentials.
- Day 2–5: Check tracker twice daily. Save all receipts.
- Day 7: If still missing, call the airline directly (don't just email).
- Day 14: Submit your interim expense claim regardless of bag status.
- Day 21: If declared lost, file your full compensation claim with documented contents.
- Always: Tag your bag with something that lets a finder reach you privately. A Lochtag costs less than the toiletries you just had to re-buy.
The hardest truth about lost luggage
Most lost bags aren't stolen. They're separated from their owner because the system that's supposed to reunite them broke at one of a dozen handoff points. The single biggest thing you can do to flip the odds in your favor is make it easy for an honest finder to get the bag back to you. Everything else — tracking, claims, reimbursement — is a poor substitute for prevention.
Have a luggage horror story or a great recovery? Tell us about it — we collect them for future posts (with your permission, of course).