Passenger rights
Traveler Guidance
Before travelling
- Baggage
- Complaints regarding baggage incidents
- Baggage damage: 7 days as from baggage reception;
- Baggage delay: 21 days as from baggage reception;
- Loss of baggage: There is no limit set out in the Convention, but it is recommended to make the complaint as soon as possible, after 21 days during which the suitcase is "delayed", or after the airline confirmation that your baggage is lost.
- Montreal Convention ratified by Spain in 2004 (BOE No. 122, of 20 May 2004);
- Regulation (EC) 2027/97, of 9 October 1997, on liability of airlines in the event of accident;
- Regulation (EC) 889/2002, of 13 May 2002, amending Council Regulation (EC) No 2027/97 on liability of airlines in the event of an accident.
Learn more about baggage, your rights, applicable legislation, and complaints.
Before heading to the airport, please check with your airline as regards specific limitations on the number of packages, measurements, and maximum weights applying for the carriage of carry-on and checked baggage.
In the passenger cabin, the passenger is allowed to carry as carry-on baggage certain objects of low weight and volume (pointless umbrella, handbag, camera, etc.), provided that they do not exceed certain dimensions or weight, which are usually indicated on the ticket or in the General Conditions of Carriage.
The maximum times to make complaints and request any compensation that may apply are set out in the Montreal Convention.
In incidents related to destruction, loss and damage or delay of baggage, the airline shall, as a general rule, be responsible for repairing or restoring the damage caused. Therefore, the passenger should complain the airline in these cases.
When you notice any irregularities with your baggage (loss, damage or delay) please notify it immediately, before leaving the airport, at the airline counters or, if the airline does not have presence at the airport, to its handling agent or representative at the airport at the authorized counters before leaving the airport.
When you report an incident about your baggage at the airport, the airline or its handling agent will issue a Property Irregularity Report (PIR) and deliver a copy to you. Keep this document, as it is the one that will be requested by the airline when you make a complaint.
For many airlines it is essential the submission of the PIR form to accept a complaint related to baggage, so we recommend you to fill it out before leaving the airport.
Remind that it is very important to fill out the PIR before leaving the airport. Otherwise, it will be very difficult to prove the damage, delay or loss of your baggage.
In addition, you should submit a formal written complaint to which you should attach a copy of the RIP in accordance with the time limits set out in the Montreal Convention:
Please note that the receipt of baggage without protest on your part will constitute a presumption, unless otherwise proof, that it was delivered in good condition and in accordance with the transport document.
In the event that the dispute cannot be resolved with the airline, the only way, since it is a private matter, would be to settle the dispute before the Commercial Courts, taking the corresponding action within two years, counted as from the date of arrival at destination or as from the date on which the baggage should have arrived.
The applicable Legislation for baggage incidents is:
In particular, Article 17.2 of the Montreal Convention provides: " The carrier liable for damage sustained in case of destruction or loss of, or of damage to, checked baggage upon condition only that the event which caused the destruction, loss or damage took place on board the aircraft or during any period within which the checked baggage was in the charge of the carrier. However, the carrier is not liable if and to the extent that the damage resulted from the inherent defect, quality or vice of the baggage. In the case of unchecked baggage, including personal items, the carrier is liable if the damage resulted from its fault or that of its servants or agents."
At the Airport
Two zones can be differentiated in terminals:
Check-in Area
The place where the check-in and ticketing desks of the airlines, main hall etc., belonging to the so-called land side of the airport, are located. This is where you should check in your baggage and/or obtain the boarding pass, if you did not previously do so online.
Boarding Area
The place where you access through security controls. In this area are the boarding gates to the flights, and it belongs to the so-called air side of the airport. From this area you access to board the aircraft for the start of the flight.
On these pages you can find a series of practical tips for your stay at the airport and check-in for your flight.
Carrier Liabilities (Montreal Convention)
- Destruction, loss, damage or delay of baggage (checked and unchecked) is limited to:
1,288 SDR (Special Drawing Rights) --> € 1,609 approximately
Upper limits if there is a Special Baggage Value Statement.
- Destruction, loss, damage or delay of cargo is limited to:
22 SDR/Kilogram (Special Drawing Rights) --> € 27.5 approximately.
Upper limits if there is a Special High-value Cargo Statement
The Montreal Convention "Unification of Certain Rules for International Air Transport" sets new limits on the carriers liability to passengers, baggage and cargo. The values set out in that Convention are updated in accordance with the Amendment to articles 21 and 22 of the Convention for the Unification of Certain Rules for International Air Transport, made in Montreal on May 28, 1999:
An action for liability should be brought up before the Court of the State of the registered office of the carrier or its head office or otherwise the Court of the State of destination and should be brought up within 2 years as from the date of arrival at destination or the one in which it should have arrived or the one of transportation stoppage.
If your flight involves connecting with more than one airline, you may check-in your baggage from departure to final destination. If you do so and something happens with your baggage, you may complain against any of the airlines that transported the baggage.
For package travel made partly by air and partly by any other mode of transport, the provisions of the Convention apply only to air transport.
Flying is Safe
You may feel a certain apprehension, even fear, of flying.
However, you should know that in air transport nothing is left to chance. The aircraft you are travelling on is in perfect flight conditions. Otherwise, it would not obtain the mandatory Certification that the Spanish Aviation Safety and Security Agency or the various aeronautical administrations anywhere in the world issue to authorize its operation. The crew of your aircraft is made up of highly specialized and qualified people who are subjected to frequent checks and have been carefully selected over several years of intensive preparation.
When you are on board the aircraft, taking off, during the flight or landing, your safety is guaranteed by the proper functioning of the aircraft and by the professionalism of the crew, and from the ground your flight is constantly monitored and controlled by a group of professionals who, managing the most sophisticated equipment, contribute to your safety.
Therefore, when you get on your aircraft, remind: Flying is Safe.
