# Montreal Convention Baggage Limits & 7/21-Day Deadlines

> 1,519 SDR is the baggage liability cap on international flights since 28 December 2024, with 7- and 21-day written-complaint deadlines and two years to sue.

- Canonical: https://flightclaimletters.pages.dev/guides/montreal-convention-baggage/
- Section: Know your rights (https://flightclaimletters.pages.dev/guides/#reference)
- Published: 16 Jun 2026 · Updated: 6 Sept 2026 · Figures checked: 6 Sept 2026 · 5 min read
- Source site: flightclaimletters — https://flightclaimletters.pages.dev/ · General information, not legal advice.

The Montreal Convention caps an airline's liability for your bag at **1,519 SDR** on any international flight, and at **6,303 SDR** for losses caused by a delay to you. You must complain in writing within **7 days** for damage or **21 days** for a delayed bag, and start any court action within **two years**. Montreal pays proven loss, not a fixed sum.

## The limits in force since 28 December 2024

| What it covers | Limit per passenger | Approximate US dollars |
|---|---|---|
| Baggage — destroyed, lost, damaged or delayed | **1,519 SDR** | about US$2,080 |
| Damages caused by **delay to the passenger** | **6,303 SDR** | about US$8,650 |
| Death or bodily injury (strict-liability tier) | 151,880 SDR | about US$208,000 |

These figures took effect on **28 December 2024** and replaced the 2019 limits. They came from the fourth review under the Convention's built-in five-yearly inflation mechanism, so the **next revision is due around 28 December 2029** ([ICAO](https://www.icao.int/news/international-air-travel-liability-limits-set-increase-enhancing-customer-compensation-0)). If a page or a letter quotes you the older numbers, it has not been updated.

The dollar column is an approximation. The Convention sets the limits in **Special Drawing Rights**, an IMF unit of account valued daily from a basket of major currencies. On **4 September 2026** the [IMF](https://www.imf.org/external/np/fin/data/rms_sdrv.aspx) valued 1 SDR at US$1.371890. Convert at the rate on the date you claim, and quote the SDR figure in your letter rather than a currency amount.

## One cap for the whole bag

The 1,519 SDR figure under **Montreal Convention, Article 22(2)** is a single per-passenger ceiling covering destruction, loss, damage **and** delay together. It is not 1,519 SDR per incident. The only way to raise it is a **special declaration of interest** made at check-in at the latest, with a supplementary fee paid at the time — after that, the airline is liable up to the declared sum.

Delay damages under **Article 22(1)** are not automatic. You have to prove the money you actually lost: receipted replacement clothing, a prepaid booking you missed, a taxi you would not otherwise have taken. No receipts, no claim.

## The deadlines are short and hard

| Claim | Written-complaint deadline |
|---|---|
| **Damaged** checked baggage | **7 days** from the date the bag was placed at your disposal |
| **Delayed** checked baggage | **21 days** from the date the bag was placed at your disposal |
| Court action on any Montreal claim | **2 years** from arrival, or from when the aircraft should have arrived |

Those periods are set by **Articles 31 and 35** of the Convention and restated in the passenger notice annexed to [Regulation (EC) No 889/2002](https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=CELEX%3A32002R0889).

> **Miss the 7 or 21 days and the baggage claim is usually gone.** File the Property Irregularity Report before you leave the airport, then send a dated written claim — email is fine — inside the window even if you do not yet know the amount. Use the [damaged](/guides/damaged-baggage-letter/), [delayed](/guides/delayed-baggage-letter/) or [lost](/guides/lost-baggage-letter/) baggage letter. Run your own dates through the [deadlines tool](/tools/deadlines/) rather than counting on your fingers.

## When is a delayed bag treated as lost?

The Convention lets you treat a bag as lost once the carrier admits it, or after **21 days** from the date it should have arrived. At that point the claim moves from a delay claim to a loss claim, still under the same 1,519 SDR cap. Keep claiming the interim expenses either way.

## Does Montreal apply to my flight?

It applies to international carriage between two states that are both parties to the Convention, and to a return trip that starts and ends in one such state with an agreed stop in another. A **US domestic** flight is not Montreal: the airline's liability for a checked bag is set by [14 CFR 254.4](https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-14/part-254/section-254.4), which bars it from limiting liability below **$4,700** per passenger. See [US passenger rights](/guides/us-passenger-rights/).

## Can I claim EU261 and Montreal for the same flight?

Yes, for different losses. **EU261 or UK261** pays a fixed sum for the disruption itself — see the [amounts table](/guides/eu261-uk261-amounts/). **Montreal** pays your proven out-of-pocket loss on baggage, and proven delay damages beyond that fixed sum. A long delayed international flight with a bag that arrived three days later can produce both, claimed separately and evidenced separately.

## What the airline will ask for

The bag tag number, the Property Irregularity Report reference, your booking reference, the flight and date, and itemised receipts. Photograph a damaged bag before it is repaired, and keep the repair quote. If the airline offers a fixed goodwill sum below your evidenced loss, you can say no and restate the claim under Article 22(2), then [escalate](/guides/escalate-to-regulator/). Items missing from an opened bag are damage under Article 17(2) too, not a separate category — see the [pilfered baggage letter](/guides/pilfered-baggage-letter/) — and a damaged wheelchair or other mobility device follows its own rules rather than the ordinary cap, covered in the [mobility equipment claim letter](/guides/mobility-equipment-damaged-letter/).