The Montreal Convention 1999 governs liability on international flights for baggage and for damages caused by delay. Unlike EU261’s fixed sums, Montreal pays your proven, actual loss up to a cap. The limits were raised on 28 December 2024.
Verify the current SDR value. Limits are set in IMF Special Drawing Rights (SDR), whose value changes daily. The USD/EUR figures below are approximate — check the live IMF rate for your claim. This is general information, not legal advice.
Current liability limits (per passenger, effective 28 December 2024)
| What | Limit | Approx. (SDR ≈ $1.37) |
|---|---|---|
| Baggage — lost, damaged, or delayed | 1,519 SDR | ≈ US$2,100 / €1,800 |
| Passenger delay damages | 6,303 SDR | ≈ US$8,650 |
| Death or bodily injury (strict-liability tier) | 151,880 SDR | ≈ US$208,000 |
- The previous figures (1,288 SDR baggage / 5,346 SDR delay, set in 2019) are superseded — use the 2024 numbers.
- Baggage is a single per-passenger cap covering destroyed, lost, damaged, and delayed bags — unless you made a special declaration of higher value at check-in and paid a fee.
- Delay compensation is not automatic: you must prove actual financial loss (receipted expenses, a missed prepaid booking, etc.), up to the cap.
Deadlines — strict (Articles 31 & 35)
| Claim | Written-complaint deadline |
|---|---|
| Damaged baggage | within 7 days of receiving the bag |
| Delayed baggage | within 21 days of the bag being returned to you |
| Lawsuit (any Montreal claim) | within 2 years |
Miss the 7- or 21-day window and the baggage claim is usually dead. These are short, hard deadlines — far stricter than EU261’s multi-year limits. Report at the airport, get the Property Irregularity Report (PIR), and send your written claim immediately. See the damaged, delayed, and lost baggage letters.
What is an SDR?
An SDR (Special Drawing Right) is an international reserve unit created by the IMF, valued from a basket of major currencies (USD, euro, renminbi, yen, sterling). 1 SDR ≈ US$1.37–1.38 in 2026, and it moves every business day — check the IMF SDR valuation page for the rate on your claim date.
How it fits with EU261
EU261 and the Montreal Convention are separate and can both apply:
- EU261/UK261 = fixed compensation for the disruption (delay/cancellation/denied boarding). See the amounts table.
- Montreal = proven-damages claims, and the governing regime for baggage on international flights and for delay losses beyond the EU261 flat sum.
So a long, delayed international flight could give you both an EU261 fixed payment and a Montreal claim for separate proven losses. US domestic baggage isn’t Montreal — it’s the airline’s tariff with a DOT $4,700 cap.