On an international flight the airline’s liability for a checked bag stops at 1,519 SDR under Article 22(2) of the Montreal Convention — approximately US$2,080 at the IMF rate of 4 September 2026. The one way past that ceiling is a special declaration of interest made as you hand the bag over, plus any supplementary sum the carrier asks for.
[Your full name]
[Your address]
[Email]
[Phone]
[Today's date]
[Airline name] — Check-in / Baggage Acceptance
[Airline claims address or online claim form]
Re: Special declaration of interest in delivery at destination
Flight [Flight number]
Route [Departure airport] to [Final destination airport]
Date of flight [Flight date]
Booking reference [Booking reference]
Bag tag number [Bag tag number]
Dear Sir or Madam,
I am checking in one item of baggage containing [Item description].
I make a special declaration of interest in delivery at destination
under Article 22(2) of the Montreal Convention 1999. The value of my
interest in delivery at destination is [Currency] [Declared value].
Please confirm the supplementary sum, if any, that you require for this
declaration. I will pay it at check-in and I ask for a receipt.
I understand that, once this declaration is accepted, the carrier is
liable up to the declared sum in the event of destruction, loss, damage
or delay of this baggage, unless it proves that the sum is greater than
my actual interest in delivery at destination.
Please attach a copy of this declaration to the baggage record and
return a signed or stamped copy to me.
Yours faithfully,
[Signature]
[Your full name]
How to use it
- Ask the airline what it charges before the day of travel. The Convention lets it require a supplementary sum and does not fix one.
- Print two copies. Hand one over with the bag and keep the stamped one.
- Declare a real figure you can evidence with receipts, not a round number you hope for.
- Get the receipt for the supplementary sum. That payment is what makes the declaration bite.
- If check-in refuses to take it, ask for that refusal in writing before you fly.
The moment matters more than the wording. Article 22(2) allows the higher limit only where the declaration is made at the time the checked baggage is handed over to the carrier. A declaration sent afterwards, or an email to customer service from the departure lounge, does not lift the ceiling. If the bag is already gone, you are back on the ordinary limit and the lost baggage letter is the right document.
How much does a declaration cost?
The Convention says only that the passenger pays “a supplementary sum if the case so requires”, which leaves the amount to each carrier’s own tariff. We do not publish per-airline figures we have not verified, and they change. Phone the airline, ask what it charges for a special declaration of interest on your route, and ask where at the airport it is accepted — some carriers take it only at a staffed desk.
Does the declaration help if the bag is only late?
Yes. Article 22(2) sets one limit for destruction, loss, damage or delay of baggage, and the declared sum replaces that limit for all four. In practice a delay claim is still measured by what you reasonably spent, so the declaration matters most where a late bag caused a large, provable loss — professional equipment that could not be replaced in time, for instance.
Is travel insurance a better answer?
Often, and the two work differently. A declaration raises what the airline owes and needs no claim against a third party; a policy pays on its own terms and may exclude the very item you are carrying. Read the policy limit per item before you decide, and remember that an insurer that pays you will usually pursue the airline itself up to the Convention limit.
Whatever you declare, the seven-day and twenty-one-day complaint clocks in Article 31 still apply if something goes wrong: see the damaged baggage letter and the delayed baggage letter. The limits, the SDR and the two-year deadline for court action are explained in the Montreal Convention baggage guide. For a wheelchair or another assistive device, read the mobility equipment letter first — some flights escape the cap without any declaration at all.