We take delayed baggage seriously:

• We have baggage services staff at every airport we fly into. If they’re not by the baggage belt, you’ll find them at a service desk within the baggage hall area.
  
• Our Central Baggage Claims departments are situated in the UK.
  
• We belong to the global baggage tracing network, WorldTracer – linking us to the baggage offices of more than 2,200 airport locations.

When reporting delayed baggage to our baggage hall staff:

• Be sure to give us an accurate description of your bag – any distinguishing features you can think of will help us to locate it more easily. It’s always worth having a picture of your luggage on your phone, just in case.
  
• You’ll be able to monitor the progress of the tracking procedure in relation to your bag. Get in touch with our baggage services staff at the airport where you reported your delayed bag, or login to our baggage tracing page to check online (you’ll need the 10-character reference number we give you when you report the delay).
  
• Contact numbers for our baggage services are below, listed by airport.

Baggage services contact numbers

If you’ve let us know your bag has been delayed, we realise you may need to buy some essential items such as cosmetics, toiletries and basic clothing to keep you going until we can find your baggage.

We’ll reimburse you for these essential purchases when you return home up to the value of $50 if you’re in the States, or the equivalent of £50 in all other destinations. To make a claim, please ensure you keep all the receipts, then send them to us at the addresses below.

If your bag turns out to be irretrievably lost, we’ll deduct any sum paid for essential items from the final settlement costs.

If your bag still hasn’t reached you 48 hours after you landed and reported it missing, a further $50 (or the equivalent of £50 in destinations outside the US) can be claimed when you return home. Just make sure you inform us and keep all of your receipts!

To claim an Emergency Payment, please send us the following information:

• Receipts for your purchased items.
• The Property Irregularity Report (PIR) Number given by the airport when you report your delayed baggage.
• Your flight details.
• Your full name and address.
• Bank details (account name and number, bank address and sort code).
• Your International Bank Account Number (IBAN) – your bank should let you know what yours is.

We’ll do our best to attend to your claim as quickly as we can, but it can take between 21-28 days from the date we receive your claim before we can reimburse you.

Once we’ve found your baggage

As soon as we locate your baggage, we’ll arrange for it to be delivered to you.  Unfortunately, due to customs regulations we are unable to deliver delayed baggage to addresses in Lagos or Accra, you will need to collect it from the airport yourself.

If we can’t find your baggage

If we’re unable to locate your bag within 21 days of you reporting its delay to our airport staff, we’re very sorry, and at this point we will declare it ‘irretrievably lost’.

If you don't have travel insurance and you need to make a claim, take a look at our making a baggage claim page.