Cabin bag missing or damaged: identify who had custody

First establish where the bag was and who had custody. A bag handed to the airline at the gate, a laptop left in a seat pocket and an item held at security do not have the same reporting route or automatic compensation outcome.

Airline took the bag

Keep the receipt, tag and any handover photos. Ask where the bag should have been returned, then report missing or damaged baggage promptly through the airline’s official channel. Obtain a reference number and retain the incident report. The gate-checked baggage guide covers this handover scenario in more detail.

Bag stayed in the cabin

Tell cabin crew immediately if you discover a loss or damage on board. After leaving the aircraft, contact the airline’s lost-property service and the relevant airport service where appropriate. Record flight, seat, bag description and when you last saw it. For suspected theft, ask about the appropriate police-report procedure.

Under the Montreal Convention, liability for unchecked baggage depends on fault of the carrier or its staff or agents. Neither automatic airline liability for every cabin loss nor a blanket exclusion of all cabin claims is accurate. Preserve the facts needed to assess responsibility.

Item was stopped at security

Ask the checkpoint authority what happened and whether a receipt, return procedure or complaint channel is available. Security handling is not automatically an airline baggage-loss claim. Do not assume every item can be recovered or that every insurance policy excludes the same events.

Claims and evidence

Keep purchase or value evidence, photos, incident references, dated correspondence and receipts for necessary expenses. A PIR is a report, not approval of compensation. Check whether a separate written request is required and retain proof of submission.

Where Montreal applies, the revised baggage limit is 1519 SDR per passenger, subject to conditions, not an automatic award. Written notice for damaged checked baggage is due promptly and within seven days of receipt; delay notice within 21 days after the bag becomes available. These notice periods are not a reason to postpone initial reporting. For other journeys, confirm the applicable rules.

Travel insurance has its own exclusions, deductibles, item limits and deadlines. Compare the actual policy and explain any airline payment already received; no generic electronics amount or guaranteed payout is assumed here.