The airline has not replied to my baggage claim in 21 days: what next

What the 21 days actually means

People often read the 21 days as a deadline for the airline to pay. It is not. The 21 days is the passenger's deadline to complain in writing about delayed baggage, and it runs from the date the bag is placed back in your hands, not from the original flight. Article 31(2) of the Montreal Convention sets it out, and Article 31(3) adds that the complaint must be made in writing. For damaged baggage the equivalent written complaint period is 7 days from receipt.

So the 21-day figure is a shield you use, not a promise the airline makes. Once you have filed a written complaint inside that window, the airline cannot dismiss the claim as late, and its later silence counts against it rather than you. The airline has no matching 21-day statutory clock to reply, which is exactly why an unanswered claim feels stuck. It is not stuck: it is waiting for you to escalate.

Two clocks you must not confuse

Baggage claims run on two separate timers, and mixing them up is the most common way a good claim quietly dies while you wait for a reply.

The first clock is the complaint period in Article 31: 21 days for delay, 7 days for damage, in writing. Once you have met it, that clock has done its job and cannot be missed again.

The second clock is the limitation period in Article 35. It gives you two years to bring a legal action, reckoned from the date of arrival, the date the aircraft ought to have arrived, or the date the carriage stopped. This is the deadline that keeps running while the airline stalls. Every month of silence is a month out of your two years, so escalation should be prompt and should never drift toward that long-stop date.

• Complaint deadline (Article 31): 7 days for damage, 21 days for delay, in writing. Protects the claim.
• Action deadline (Article 35): 2 years to bring a legal claim, measured from arrival. Limits how long you can wait.
• Meeting the first deadline does not pause the second.

Step one: send one firm written follow-up

Send a single, businesslike follow-up rather than a stream of messages. Use the same channel the airline uses for baggage claims, and put your file or PIR reference in the subject line. State the original submission date, summarise what you claimed and the amount, and set a clear, reasonable deadline for a substantive reply, for example 14 days.

Keep the tone factual. You are building a paper trail that a regulator or a judge can read at a glance, so stick to dates, references and figures and ask for a written decision rather than a phone call. If the airline has published a response target, name it: several carriers state a 28-day handling aim for baggage claims, and quoting that back to them is fair and effective.

• Quote the PIR or claim reference and the original submission date.
• Restate the claimed amount and attach the key evidence again.
• Ask for a written decision within a stated, reasonable period.
• Save the sent message and any read or delivery confirmation.

Step two: escalate to the national enforcement body

If your follow-up deadline passes with no real answer, take the case outside the airline. Baggage liability on international flights sits under the Montreal Convention, and in the EU it is applied through Regulation 2027/97 as amended by Regulation 889/2002. Each state designates a body to handle passenger complaints, and you can raise an unresolved case with the appropriate authority.

In the United Kingdom the passenger route is the UK Civil Aviation Authority, or the airline's approved alternative dispute resolution scheme where it belongs to one. In the EU, use the national enforcement body or civil aviation authority for the country the flight departed from, or the country of arrival where the flight came into the bloc from outside it. If you are unsure which body applies, the official EU air passenger rights pages explain how to identify and contact the correct one. Send them the same clean record: the complaint, its date, your follow-up and the airline's silence.

• United Kingdom: the UK Civil Aviation Authority, or the airline's ADR scheme.
• EU: the national enforcement body for the country of departure first.
• For arrivals into the bloc from outside it, the country of arrival can apply.
• Include the full timeline: complaint, follow-up, deadlines and non-response.

Step three: protect the 2-year deadline under Article 35

Escalation takes time, and the Article 35 limitation period does not wait. If the two-year date is approaching and the airline still has not settled, get advice on protecting the claim formally, whether through a small claims procedure, a national court or an approved alternative dispute route. The right to damages is extinguished once two years have passed, so a claim that was perfectly valid can simply expire while you wait politely for a reply.

The recoverable amount is still governed by the Convention. The baggage liability limit rose to 1,519 Special Drawing Rights per passenger from 28 December 2024. That is a ceiling on proven loss, not a guaranteed payment, and most delay and damage claims land well below it. Your escalation is about forcing a decision on what you can already document, not about inflating the figure.

• Diarise the 2-year date from arrival as a hard stop.
• If settlement is not close as it nears, take formal steps in time.
• Keep the claimed amount tied to evidence and within the 1,519 SDR ceiling.

Small claims or a claim service: what it should cost

For many documented baggage claims, a national small claims procedure is proportionate and inexpensive, and it is designed to be used without a lawyer. It suits a clear sum backed by receipts and a tidy timeline, which is exactly what your escalation pack already contains.

Some passengers prefer help preparing the case. Commission-based claim agencies typically take a large cut of any payout, often in the region of 30 to 50 percent, so a well-evidenced claim can lose a substantial share to fees. BagClaim takes a different approach: a one-off fee of EUR 19.90 to build a structured, evidence-led claim pack, with no percentage of your compensation. On a mid-sized baggage claim the difference between a flat 19.90 and a third or half of the award is significant, and it is worth comparing before you sign anything.

• Small claims: low cost, no lawyer needed, best for a clear documented sum.
• Commission agencies: convenient, but often take 30 to 50 percent of the payout.
• BagClaim: a one-off EUR 19.90 claim pack, with no cut of your compensation.

What your escalation pack should contain

By the time you escalate, everything should be in one place and in date order. A body reviewing the case, or a court, should be able to follow it without asking you for anything more.

• PIR or baggage reference and the airline's claim confirmation
• the original written complaint with its date and proof of sending
• your single follow-up and the deadline it set
• receipts, inventory or repair evidence supporting the amount
• a one-line timeline ending in the airline's non-response
• the arrival date, so the 2-year deadline is visible at a glance