How Long Do Airlines Keep Lost Luggage? Timelines, Deadlines and What to Do at Each Stage

When your bag doesn’t arrive, one question dominates: how long will this take? And behind it: how long will they keep looking? Here’s a clear timeline of what happens to lost luggage, the deadlines that matter and what you should be doing at each stage.

The short answer

Most mishandled bags are delayed, not lost, and are returned within 48 hours. Under the Montreal Convention, a bag can be treated as lost after 21 days. Airlines typically keep searching for weeks, and unmatched bags are often held for up to around three months before being sold, donated or disposed of. Key deadlines: report at the airport, claim delays within 21 days of receiving the bag, damage within 7 days, and legal action generally within two years.

The lost luggage timeline

When	What usually happens	What you should do
Day 0 (arrival)	Bag missing at the carousel	Report at the airline desk; get a file reference
Days 1–2	Most delayed bags are located and forwarded	Track your file; buy essentials; keep receipts
Days 3–5	Wider search across airports	Follow up daily; add detail to your description
Days 5–21	Continued tracing; matching found bags	Escalate to customer relations; share tracker location
Day 21	Bag can be treated as lost (Montreal Convention)	Submit a claim for the bag and contents
Up to ~90 days	Unmatched bags held and searched	Keep your claim active; check for updates
After the holding period	Unclaimed bags may be sold, donated or disposed of	—
Up to 2 years	Time limit for legal action (generally)	Escalate formally if the claim isn’t resolved

What happens in the first 48 hours

The majority of bags are traced quickly — often they missed a connection or were loaded onto a different flight. They’re forwarded on the next available flight and delivered to you. SITA’s 2025 report found the global mishandling rate at 6.3 bags per 1,000 passengers, with most cases resolved within 48 hours. The first 24 hours after your bag goes missing.

Days 3 to 21: the tracing period

If the bag hasn’t turned up, the airline widens the search. This is when your description and any identifying details inside the bag matter most. Staff may open unmatched bags looking for owner information. How to find lost luggage.

After 21 days: lost

You can now treat the bag as lost and claim for its value and contents, up to the Montreal Convention limit of 1,519 SDR (roughly US$2,000) on most international flights. Lost luggage compensation explained.

After the holding period

Bags that are never matched are eventually handled under the airline’s policy — sold to liquidators, donated, recycled or disposed of. What happens to unclaimed luggage.

Deadlines at a glance

Claim	Deadline
Missing bag report	Before leaving the airport
Delayed bag expenses	Within 21 days of receiving the bag
Damage	Within 7 days of receiving the bag
Lost bag	As soon as it’s declared lost
Legal action	Generally within 2 years

How to shorten the timeline

• Tag the outside and inside of your bag with contact details.
• Make it distinctive so it’s easy to match. How to make your luggage stand out.
• Add a tracker and share its location with the airline if needed.
• Describe it in detail in your report.
• Keep your baggage receipt.

The bottom line

Most bags come back within two days. If not, airlines keep tracing for weeks; after 21 days you can claim the bag as lost, and unmatched bags are often held for up to about three months. Meet the 7- and 21-day deadlines, and make your bag easy to identify.

A TagTrek QR tag outside and inside your bag gives airline staff an instant way to identify it and contact you — even if the airline’s own tag is torn off. Switch it to Lost mode as soon as it’s missing and you’ll get a scan alert with the city where it was scanned.

This article is general information, not legal advice.