Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what recent assessment she has made of the adequacy of (a) the compensation process for missing airline luggage and (b) airline (i) processes and (ii) timescales for declaring luggage as lost to enable the payment of (A) compensation and (B) travel insurance claims.

The Montreal Convention 1999 is the international convention that establishes airline liability for delay, damage or loss of baggage. In the event of baggage being lost, damaged or delayed, passengers should contact their airline. In the event they cannot reach an appropriate conclusion with the airline, passengers can escalate complaints either through Alternative Dispute Resolution, or through the Civil Aviation Authority Passenger Advice and Complaints Team.

We published the Aviation Passenger Charter in July 2022, which sets out the rights and responsibilities of passengers at each stage of their journey, including what to do if things go wrong, such as lost baggage.