In short: Missing bag: register it on easyJet’s Baggage Portal within 24 hours of landing. Buy only essentials – easyJet’s guideline is up to £75 per person if the bag is 24+ hours late – and claim them within 21 days. Damaged bag: photograph it before leaving the airport and register the claim within 7 days. The legal ceiling is 1,519 SDR per passenger (about £1,534 / €1,837 on 10 November 2026).
First steps at the airport
- Check with airport staff in the arrivals hall before you leave; easyJet handles delayed bags with the airport baggage services team and its partner First Flight.
- Delayed or missing bag: create a report on easyJet’s Baggage Portal. easyJet asks you to do this within 24 hours of your flight arriving. You do not have to wait at the airport.
- Damaged bag: take photos of the damage before you leave the airport – easyJet warns that photos taken later may not be accepted – then report it and register a claim.
- Keep your boarding pass, bag tag receipt and any reference number. Note the time you reported the problem.
The report is the starting point, not the claim itself: money is claimed separately, as below. For the legal background, see our guides to delayed baggage, lost luggage and damaged luggage.
Delayed bag: tracing, essentials and the £75 guideline
easyJet describes three stages:
| Time since arrival | What easyJet says happens |
|---|---|
| Up to 5 days | Airport teams search; easyJet says more than 90% of delayed bags are found in this period and it arranges delivery. Status is shown on the online portal. |
| 6–45 days | A specialist baggage tracing team takes over. Live chat with the delayed baggage team runs 08:30–20:00 UK time, Monday to Friday. |
| After 45 days | easyJet considers the bag lost and invites a compensation claim online. |
Essentials: if you are away from home and the bag is delayed by 24 hours or more, easyJet says you may buy essential items – toiletries, basic clothing, over-the-counter medicine – up to £75 per person, and claim them with receipts on its online form within 21 days of your flight. It pays in pounds, euros or another local currency.
The £75 figure is easyJet’s own policy, not a legal cap. Under the Montreal Convention the airline is liable for damage caused by delay up to 1,519 SDR unless it proves it took all reasonable measures. If a longer delay genuinely forced you to spend more, you can claim the extra with receipts – but expect easyJet to point you to your travel insurer, as its page does.
Two local exceptions on easyJet’s page: delayed bags cannot be delivered in Egypt or Morocco and must be collected at the airport, and bags arriving in Gibraltar cannot be delivered to addresses in mainland Spain.
When is an easyJet bag lost – 45 days or 21?
easyJet treats a bag as lost after 45 days and then accepts a claim through its online luggage claims form. The amount depends on the contents and the receipts you can produce, and easyJet says it keeps tracing even after paying.
The law is more generous on timing: under Article 17(3) of the Montreal Convention, if a checked bag has not arrived 21 days after it should have, you are entitled to treat it as lost and claim against the airline. You do not have to wait for easyJet’s 45 days, although many people do while tracing continues.
What you can claim is your actual, documented loss – the bag and its contents, usually with a deduction for age – up to 1,519 Special Drawing Rights per passenger. On 10 November 2026 that was about £1,534 or €1,837. There is no fixed payout. List every item with its approximate purchase date and price, and attach receipts, bank statements or photos where you have them. Our lost luggage guide explains how depreciation is usually argued.
Damaged suitcase or contents
easyJet says that if the damage happened in its care it will repair or replace the bag. The process:
- Photograph the damage at the airport, report it, and register your claim on easyJet’s web page within 7 days of your flight – even if you already reported it in person.
- easyJet then contacts you to collect and repair the bag. Non-UK residents are offered a replacement of similar size instead of a repair.
easyJet lists damage it will not accept: superficial scuffs and scratches, damage from overpacking, water, rain or snow damage, and damage to fragile or perishable items inside the bag (it refers you to your travel insurer for contents). Wear and tear is generally not compensable under the Convention either, but a broken wheel, handle or shell usually is. For contents damaged in transit, keep the items and photograph them – see damaged luggage compensation.
easyJet deadlines versus the legal deadlines
| Situation | easyJet asks | Montreal Convention (Art. 31, 35) |
|---|---|---|
| Delayed bag – report | Baggage Portal within 24 hours of arrival | No separate report deadline |
| Delayed bag – essentials claim | Within 21 days of your flight | Written complaint within 21 days of the bag being placed at your disposal |
| Damaged bag | Report and register within 7 days of your flight | Written complaint within 7 days of receiving the bag |
| Lost bag | Claim after 45 days | May be treated as lost after 21 days; court claim within 2 years |
easyJet counts from the flight; the Convention counts from when you received the bag. Follow easyJet’s dates if you can. If you missed them, a written complaint made within the Convention’s periods still protects your claim. Whatever happens, any court action must start within 2 years.
If easyJet refuses or underpays
AviationADR, the dispute body easyJet names in its notice of rights, also deals with luggage complaints. Wait for easyJet’s final response (or 8 weeks), then apply within 12 months – it is free. If that fails, a letter before action and a small claims court claim are the next steps; remember the 2-year limit for baggage claims.
Was the flight itself also 3 or more hours late? That is a separate claim for £220–£520 (€250–€600) – see how to claim from easyJet.
Frequently asked questions
How long does easyJet take to find a delayed bag?
easyJet says more than 90% of delayed bags are found within five days. After that a specialist tracing team continues for up to 45 days, after which easyJet treats the bag as lost.
How much will easyJet pay for essentials while my bag is delayed?
easyJet’s guideline is up to £75 per person for essentials such as toiletries, basic clothing and medicine, if you are away from home and the bag is at least 24 hours late. Claim with receipts within 21 days of the flight. The legal limit for delay damage is higher (1,519 SDR), but you must show the purchases were necessary.
How much compensation does easyJet pay for lost luggage?
There is no fixed sum. You receive your documented loss, usually depreciated, up to 1,519 SDR per passenger – about £1,534 or €1,837 on 10 November 2026.
easyJet says scratches are not covered. Is that right?
Superficial scuffs and scratches are generally treated as normal wear and tear, by easyJet and under the Convention. Structural damage – a cracked shell, broken wheel or handle – should be claimed within 7 days.
The easyJet name belongs to its owner; EU261 Flight Delay is an independent information site and is not affiliated with easyJet. Information only, not legal advice.
Sources
- Damaged or delayed bags and lost property – easyJet
- Notice of your rights in case of flight delays, cancellations and denied boarding – easyJet
- Lost, delayed or damaged baggage – UK Civil Aviation Authority
- AviationADR – complaints process and participating members – AviationADR
- Montreal Convention 1999 – Articles 17, 22, 31 and 35 – EUR-Lex
- The Carriage by Air (Revision of Limits of Liability under the Montreal Convention) Order 2025 (SI 2025/123) – legislation.gov.uk
- SDR valuation – currency units per SDR (10 November 2026) – International Monetary Fund
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