The Montreal Convention: everything air passengers need to know

Delayed and canceled flights can be expensive, especially when you have to pay for hotels or miss events. If the airline also loses or damages your bags, the costs rack up even more.

Luckily, most passengers flying internationally have basic protection under the Montreal Convention (MC99). It lets you claim back costs caused by the airline — but it’s complicated! Let’s make the process easier.

The Montreal Convention offers less protection than specific passenger protection laws like EU 261. It operates on a case-by-case basis and it is also complicated because different regions interpret the rules in different ways.

If you had a delayed or canceled flight, AirHelp will check which laws apply, and we make your claim under the one that is best for your case.

The first step is to use AirHelp’s quick and easy compensation checker to find out if you might be eligible.

Due to the extra work involved, we only handle Montreal Convention claims for a limited number of cases. We’ll advise you when you submit your claim if we can help in your case, or if it’s better for you to approach your airline direct.

No win, no fee!

We only take a fee if we get you compensation. For more info, check out what we charge when you win.

The Montreal Convention is an air passenger rights agreement upheld by over 140 countries since 1999. It makes airlines liable financially for the injury and death of passengers, damage or loss of their baggage, and the costs (called damages) arising from delayed, canceled or overbooked flights.

The Montreal Convention doesn’t use the word “compensation” to describe what passengers are entitled to. Instead, it talks about damages which means either money that you get for injuries to a person, or money to repay costs a person incurred e.g. due to the loss of luggage.

The Montreal Convention can be used to claim damages for:

• Lost, delayed or damaged luggage

• The cancellation, delay or overbooking of a flight — as long as it was the airline’s fault

However, different countries interpret “damages” differently.

The interpretation of what exactly damages includes varies depending on where your case is being handled. In some jurisdictions, like the United States, damages are limited to monetary losses. If you miss a prepaid reservation, have to pay for an extra night at a hotel, or rack up any other unforeseen expenses due to air travel problems, you should be reimbursed. You usually have to provide documentation of the incident and receipts of your expenses.

In other parts of the world, like the EU, passengers may be able to claim for emotional damages as well. These distinctions are taken on a case-by-case basis and we advise seeking specialist professional counsel for these kinds of cases. AirHelp does not currently deal with these kinds of claims.

The Montreal Convention applies to all international flights between countries and territories that honor the regulation. Currently, over 140 countries and territories abide by it, including all of the European Union and the majority of the UN member states. That means almost all major aviation markets are members.

The Montreal Convention is an important regulation to know when it comes to protecting your luggage on international flights.

If you were flying between any of the 140+ countries that recognise the Montreal Convention, you have protections in place in case your checked-in bag gets lost, delayed, or damaged by the airline.

Read more about luggage compensation.

Baggage is counted as lost if the airline is unable to tell you where it is. Delayed baggage, in theory, has a known location but it didn’t make it to your destination yet.

Under the Montreal Convention, delayed baggage is automatically treated as lost after 21 days. In either situation, inform the airline as soon as possible, preferably at the airport.

Rather than specified amounts of compensation, the Montreal Convention reimburses you for costs (called “damages”) that you’ve had to pay as a result of your delayed or canceled flight or if the airline has lost or damaged your belongings. So it’s essential that you keep all your receipts!

These damages have a maximum limit and they only apply if the airline is at fault.

Note: Amounts in the Montreal Convention are specified in Special Drawing Rights (SDRs), a unit of account defined by the International Monetary Fund. This means the amounts we show will vary slightly depending on current exchange rates.

Claim limits for baggage are very strict. To be eligible, you must submit the claim within 7 days of receiving damaged luggage and within 21 days of a bag being delayed. If the bag is deemed lost, you have 2 years to make a claim.

For damages arising from a delayed flight — like costs for hotels, taxis, replacement flights or emotional damages where those are counted — you have 2 years to make a claim.

Like other passenger rights laws, the Montreal convention doesn’t apply in extraordinary circumstances as the airline is not considered at fault and are, therefore, not obligated to pay damages.

Some examples of extraordinary circumstances are:

• Weather issues

• Safety or security risks

• Political unrest

• Strikes initiated by airport employees or air traffic control

The gray area is if airlines can show that they have taken reasonable measures to prevent any delays, cancellations or losses to luggage. For example, if you were delayed due to bad weather, but other airlines had adequately prepared for the situation and were able to prevent a significant delay, you should still be entitled to money.

Unlike with other kinds of passenger rights claims, baggage claims have to start in the airport. Don’t leave the airport without reporting it to the Lost Luggage desk!

You’ll have to fill out a Property Irregularity Report (PIR)/declaration of loss within 7 days of the incident for damaged or missing bags. Then keep the receipts for anything you have to replace. If your luggage is missing for 21 days but is damaged when it turns up, send a new written claim for the damage to the airline (including your flight documents, receipts, replacement purchases) within 7 days.

Check for damage immediately and take photos to provide with your claim. Ideally you would have photos from before your flight to help you prove your claim.

If you had a flight delay or cancellation, enter your flight details into our compensation checker! We’ll tell you if we’re able to help you with your claim.

We currently only handle luggage claims in a limited number of cases, such as for AirHelp+ members.

If we can take your claim, we’ll handle everything else, including submitting your documents and going to court if we have to. We don’t charge you anything up front so you only pay us if we win some money for you. Here’s some info on what we charge.

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