How does the Montreal Convention compensation cap actually work?

The Montreal Convention sets a per-passenger maximum of 1,288 SDR (about £1,300 / $1,700) for delayed, damaged or lost baggage on international flights. The airline pays the lower of (a) the actual loss you can document with receipts and (b) that cap. Anything above the cap has to come from travel insurance. The fastest way to keep the case below the cap is to never let the bag get fully lost in the first place — a BagBeacon QR tag on the bag means a finder reaches you in seconds, often before formal compensation rules even apply.

What about US domestic flights — same rules?

No. US domestic-only flights use the higher Department of Transportation cap, currently $3,800 per passenger as of 2026. Domestic-only means both legs of your trip are within the United States; any international segment shifts the case back under Montreal Convention. The calculator above lets you toggle between the two. Either way, the recovery story is the same: the most reliable payout is the bag itself, scanned and returned via a BagBeacon QR tag long before the legal claim window opens.

How quickly do airlines actually pay?

Interim-expense reimbursement (clothes, toiletries, while you wait) typically settles in 2-4 weeks for most major carriers when receipts are clean. Lost-bag final settlements (after the 21-day Montreal Convention threshold) take 30-60 days. Both timelines compare badly with a BagBeacon QR scan, which closes most recoveries within 24-48 hours and skips the claim process entirely.

Should I claim from the airline AND travel insurance?

Yes — submit both. Travel insurers will deduct anything the airline pays, but between the two you usually recover more than from either alone, and insurance covers items the airline excludes. The simplest scenario is the one you avoid: tag every bag with a BagBeacon QR before you fly, get the bag back same-day, and never need to claim at all.

Does it matter what cabin I'm in?

Legally, no — the Montreal Convention cap applies to all cabins equally. In practice, premium cabins and elite-status passengers often get goodwill payments above the cap and faster claim handling. None of this matters as much as recovering the bag before any of it kicks in. A BagBeacon QR tag works the same regardless of cabin: any finder, anywhere, scans and reaches you.

How do I prove the value of contents the airline lost?

Photos, original receipts, credit-card statements, and a written itemised inventory are the gold standard. Most airlines apply depreciated replacement value (not original purchase price), so old items get less back than recent purchases. The simplest path to keeping all your own items is making sure the bag never enters the formal lost-bag pipeline — a BagBeacon QR tag on the outside of the bag is the most reliable way to do that.

Tools · Lost luggage compensation

Lost luggage compensation calculator

What can you actually claim from an airline when your bag is delayed or lost? The numbers below are the legal floor — what every major carrier owes under the Montreal Convention and US Department of Transportation rules in 2026. The fastest payout, though, is the one you don't need to claim — which is exactly what a BagBeacon QR tag is designed to deliver.

Last updated 7 May 2026 · by Dan Holland, Founder

Calculator

Estimate your lost-luggage payout

Itinerary typeCurrencyDays delayed so far (capped at 7)Estimated value of bag contents (£)

Liability cap (legal ceiling)

£1,300

Interim reimbursement (delay)

£300

Contents covered up to cap

£500

Likely airline payout

£800

The shortest path to never using this calculator

The fastest possible payout is the bag back, intact, with you. A BagBeacon QR tag on the outside of every bag means any airline staffer or fellow passenger who picks it up by mistake can scan and contact you in seconds — usually before WorldTracer status has updated. Most BagBeacon recoveries close before any compensation calculation is needed.

Tag your bags before your next flight

How the Montreal Convention payout works

The Montreal Convention is the international treaty that governs airline liability for baggage on cross-border flights. The 2026 cap is 1,288 Special Drawing Rights (SDR) per passenger — a moving target that floats with currency markets but lands close to £1,300 / $1,700 / €1,500 at typical exchange rates.

Within that cap, an airline owes you two distinct things. Interim reimbursement is what they pay while your bag is delayed — toothbrushes, underwear, a clean shirt, ~£100/$130 a day in receipted purchases for the first 5-7 days. Lost-bag settlement is what they pay when the bag is officially declared lost (21 days under the Montreal Convention) — the depreciated value of contents you can document, capped at the legal ceiling.

On a US-domestic-only itinerary, the cap shifts upward to the Department of Transportation's $3,800 figure. International-mixed itineraries fall back under Montreal Convention rules.

The faster path: never reach the calculator

Every number in the calculator above is what an airline owes you when something has gone wrong. The compensation chain is slow — interim claims take 2-4 weeks to settle, lost-bag claims 30-60 days. Even a successful Montreal Convention payout often falls short of replacing what was actually in the bag.

A BagBeacon QR tagon the outside of every bag is the structural fix. Any airline staffer or fellow traveller who picks up the bag — even by mistake — scans the QR and texts you their location in seconds. Most BagBeacon recoveries close inside 24-48 hours, before the airline's formal tracing process has even completed its first 24-hour cycle. You skip the calculation entirely.

From £2 / $2.50 a month per bag, no app required, cancel anytime. The 14-day free trial means you can run a real test scan with a family member before paying.

Tag your bags before the next flight →

Frequently asked questions

How does the Montreal Convention compensation cap actually work?
The Montreal Convention sets a per-passenger maximum of 1,288 SDR (about £1,300 / $1,700) for delayed, damaged or lost baggage on international flights. The airline pays the lower of (a) the actual loss you can document with receipts and (b) that cap. Anything above the cap has to come from travel insurance. The fastest way to keep the case below the cap is to never let the bag get fully lost in the first place — a BagBeacon QR tag on the bag means a finder reaches you in seconds, often before formal compensation rules even apply.
What about US domestic flights — same rules?
No. US domestic-only flights use the higher Department of Transportation cap, currently $3,800 per passenger as of 2026. Domestic-only means both legs of your trip are within the United States; any international segment shifts the case back under Montreal Convention. The calculator above lets you toggle between the two. Either way, the recovery story is the same: the most reliable payout is the bag itself, scanned and returned via a BagBeacon QR tag long before the legal claim window opens.
How quickly do airlines actually pay?
Interim-expense reimbursement (clothes, toiletries, while you wait) typically settles in 2-4 weeks for most major carriers when receipts are clean. Lost-bag final settlements (after the 21-day Montreal Convention threshold) take 30-60 days. Both timelines compare badly with a BagBeacon QR scan, which closes most recoveries within 24-48 hours and skips the claim process entirely.
Should I claim from the airline AND travel insurance?
Yes — submit both. Travel insurers will deduct anything the airline pays, but between the two you usually recover more than from either alone, and insurance covers items the airline excludes. The simplest scenario is the one you avoid: tag every bag with a BagBeacon QR before you fly, get the bag back same-day, and never need to claim at all.
Does it matter what cabin I'm in?
Legally, no — the Montreal Convention cap applies to all cabins equally. In practice, premium cabins and elite-status passengers often get goodwill payments above the cap and faster claim handling. None of this matters as much as recovering the bag before any of it kicks in. A BagBeacon QR tag works the same regardless of cabin: any finder, anywhere, scans and reaches you.
How do I prove the value of contents the airline lost?
Photos, original receipts, credit-card statements, and a written itemised inventory are the gold standard. Most airlines apply depreciated replacement value (not original purchase price), so old items get less back than recent purchases. The simplest path to keeping all your own items is making sure the bag never enters the formal lost-bag pipeline — a BagBeacon QR tag on the outside of the bag is the most reliable way to do that.