In short: Report a missing or damaged bag at arrivals and get a PIR reference; you can follow it on Emirates' baggage tracker. For a delayed bag, Emirates asks you to contact it within 21 days of receiving the bag with receipts for essential clothing and toiletries. To help tracing, complete the Baggage Inventory Form; tracing can take up to 21 days. If the bag is declared lost, Emirates says it will contact you to arrange compensation. The last airline on your journey processes the claim. The Montreal Convention cap is 1,519 SDR (about £1,534 / €1,837 on 10 November 2026).
Report it at the airport and get a PIR
Register a missing or damaged bag at the arrivals baggage desk before you leave the airport. Emirates gives you a file reference called a PIR, and its website lets you check progress with your last name and PIR number.
- If you use the Emirates app, its baggage tracker shows your bag's journey; Emirates says that if a bag is delayed you automatically receive a PIR reference and can track it.
- Give a delivery address where you will be. Emirates says it delivers found bags once cleared by customs, but in some countries local rules mean you must collect the bag from the airport yourself – airport staff will tell you when you register it.
- Photograph any damage and keep your bag tag and boarding passes.
Flying on an Emirates ticket but with another airline on the last leg? Emirates says the airline on the final sector processes the baggage claim, even if you were travelling on an Emirates ticket.
Delayed bags: essentials and the 21-day limit
Emirates says that if your checked bag was delayed, you may be eligible for compensation. Contact Emirates within 21 days of receiving your baggage and include receipts for essential clothing or toiletries you had to buy during the delay. Its online form accepts two documents of up to 7 MB each, with an option to add more fields.
The 21-day limit matches Article 31 of the Montreal Convention, which requires a written complaint about delayed baggage within 21 days of the bag being placed at your disposal. Keep purchases to what you genuinely needed; airlines refuse luxury replacements. More on what counts as reasonable: delayed baggage compensation.
Tracing: the Baggage Inventory Form
When a bag is delayed, Emirates starts tracing it and may ask for documents. It asks you to complete a Baggage Inventory Form (BIF) listing your bag's contents, accessed with your last name and PIR number. Emirates warns that the form cannot be edited or resent once submitted, so list everything accurately the first time.
Emirates says tracing may take up to 21 days because several airlines or airports can be involved. A careful inventory also becomes the basis of your claim if the bag is never found.
Lost and damaged bags
Lost: Emirates says that if your baggage is declared lost, it will reach out to you to arrange compensation. Under the Montreal Convention, you can treat a bag as lost if it has not arrived 21 days after it should have. You are entitled to your proven loss – the bag and its contents, after depreciation – up to the limit. See lost luggage compensation.
Damaged: report the damage at the airport and get a PIR. The Montreal Convention requires a written complaint within 7 days of receiving the bag. Send photos, the PIR, the bag's age and value and a repair estimate. See damaged luggage compensation.
| Problem | Written complaint | Then |
|---|---|---|
| Delayed bag | Within 21 days of receiving it | Reasonable essentials with receipts |
| Damaged bag | Within 7 days of receiving it | Repair cost or depreciated value |
| Lost bag | Once declared lost (21 days) | Proven loss of bag and contents |
How much Emirates has to pay
The Montreal Convention limits an airline's liability for destroyed, lost, damaged or delayed baggage to 1,519 Special Drawing Rights per passenger since 28 December 2024 – about £1,534 or €1,837 at the IMF rate on 10 November 2026. It is a ceiling, not a fixed payment. Emirates publishes an EU summary of its liability rules on its rules-and-notices page.
You must start court proceedings within 2 years. Baggage complaints on flights from the UK can go to the CAA's PACT, which handles Montreal Convention baggage complaints for airlines outside ADR schemes – see CAA complaint. If the flight itself was 3+ hours late on departure from the UK or EU, claim that separately: Emirates claim guide.
Frequently asked questions
How do I claim for a delayed bag with Emirates?
Report it at arrivals to get a PIR, complete the Baggage Inventory Form for tracing, and contact Emirates within 21 days of getting the bag back with receipts for essential clothing and toiletries.
How much compensation does Emirates pay for lost luggage?
Your proven loss after depreciation, up to the Montreal Convention limit of 1,519 SDR per passenger (about £1,534 or €1,837 on 10 November 2026). Emirates says it contacts you to arrange compensation once a bag is declared lost.
My bag was lost on a partner airline with an Emirates ticket. Who handles it?
Emirates says the airline operating the final sector of your journey processes the baggage claim, even when you travelled on an Emirates ticket.
How long does Emirates take to find a delayed bag?
Emirates says tracing can take up to 21 days because several airlines or airports may be involved. Fill in the Baggage Inventory Form accurately – it cannot be edited once submitted.
The Emirates name belongs to its owner; EU261 Flight Delay is an independent information site and is not affiliated with Emirates. Information only, not legal advice.
Sources
- Delayed or damaged baggage – Emirates
- Rules and notices (EU summary of liability rules) – Emirates
- Lost, delayed or damaged baggage – UK Civil Aviation Authority
- How the CAA can help – UK Civil Aviation Authority
- SDR valuation – currency units per SDR – International Monetary Fund
We check every rule against the sources above. Spotted an error? Tell us – see our editorial policy.