easyJet baggage deadlines: report, written claim and court action
Reviewed on 10 August 2026. easyJet's current workflow asks passengers to register a delayed bag within 24 hours of flight arrival and to complete a damaged-bag report and claim within seven days. Montreal also requires written complaint within seven days for damage and within 21 days after delivery for delay. Court action generally has a separate two-year limit. One step does not replace another.
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Choose the situation that applies to your flight:
The deadline table
| Problem or step | Current period | Starting point |
|---|---|---|
| easyJet delayed-bag registration | Within 24 hours | Flight arrival |
| Damage report and claim registration | Within 7 days | easyJet states flight; Montreal measures complaint from receipt |
| Written complaint for baggage damage | No later than 7 days | Date the checked bag was received |
| Written complaint for baggage delay | No later than 21 days | Date the bag was made available to the passenger |
| easyJet essential-item submission | Within 21 days | easyJet currently states relevant flight |
| Montreal court action | Within 2 years | Arrival, scheduled arrival or stoppage of carriage |
Use the shortest reasonable interpretation when dates differ. Reporting damage on day one avoids arguing whether the airline's flight-based wording or Montreal's receipt-based wording controls a particular case.
A PIR records the event
A Property Irregularity Report, damage report or easyJet portal record establishes that baggage did not arrive normally or appeared damaged. It contains passenger, flight, tag and bag details used for tracing and handling.
Make the report at the arrival airport. If no baggage agent is available, easyJet currently permits delayed-bag registration through its portal and requires this within 24 hours after arrival. Save screenshots showing the reference and submission time.
For damage, take photographs before leaving the airport and create the report immediately. easyJet's current instructions then require separate claim registration, even if the airport team issued a report. A PIR without the written monetary claim may leave the second task unfinished.
Seven days for damage
Article 31 of the Montreal Convention treats receipt without complaint as evidence that baggage arrived in good condition, unless the passenger proves otherwise. A complaint for checked-baggage damage must be made in writing immediately after discovery and at the latest within seven days from receipt.
Your submission should identify:
- passenger, booking and flight;
- baggage tag and report number;
- damage and when it was discovered;
- photographs taken in arrivals;
- bag age, model and purchase evidence;
- requested repair, replacement or value remedy.
Do not wait for a repair estimate if that would cross day seven. Send the written complaint with available proof and state that the estimate will follow. Keep confirmation of delivery to easyJet.
If a bag is delivered late and also damaged, apply both tracks. Photograph it at delivery, note the courier and time, and send a damage complaint within seven days of that receipt while preserving the separate delay record.
Twenty-one days for delay
The Montreal written-complaint period for delayed baggage ends 21 days after the bag is made available to the passenger. It does not start on the flight date. Record actual handover time, courier receipt and condition.
This period concerns the written delay claim, including documented necessary purchases. easyJet's own current allowance asks for essential-purchase submission within 21 days of the relevant flight, which may be an earlier practical date than 21 days after delivery. Follow the airline's online deadline without waiting.
If the bag has not returned, continue tracing and preserve the report. Montreal allows a passenger to enforce rights for loss where the carrier admits loss or the bag has not arrived after 21 days from when it should have arrived. Prepare a documented inventory rather than repeatedly resubmitting the same delay receipts.
The easyJet delayed and lost baggage guide explains essential purchases, valuation and the 1,519 SDR ceiling.
Two years for court proceedings
The Convention extinguishes the right to damages if an action is not brought within two years. The period runs from arrival at destination, the date the aircraft ought to have arrived or the date carriage stopped. Procedural calculation is governed by the law of the court hearing the case.
This is not permission to postpone the written complaint. A passenger can still be within two years yet have lost a baggage claim by missing seven or 21 days. Airline correspondence also does not necessarily pause or extend the court period.
Seek jurisdiction-specific advice well before expiry. Determine which carrier can be sued, where proceedings may be brought and whether a contracting carrier, actual carrier or both were involved.
1,519 SDR is a ceiling, not a deadline
ICAO revised the Montreal baggage liability limit to 1,519 SDR per passenger from 28 December 2024. Do not confuse that amount with the time limit or a standard payment.
The claimant proves actual recoverable loss through receipts, age, condition and necessity. Several bags checked by one passenger generally remain within that passenger's ceiling, while individual passengers on a family booking should identify ownership. A special declaration made at check-in can affect the limit in a qualifying case.
A worked timeline
An easyJet flight lands on 2 September. A bag is missing and registered that evening. It is delivered at 18:00 on 8 September with a broken wheel.
- 2 September: preserve the delayed-bag reference and tag.
- During delay: keep itemised receipts for necessary purchases.
- 8 September: record delivery and photograph damage immediately.
- By 15 September at the latest: send the written damage complaint, but preferably on 8 September.
- By 23 September under Montreal: send the delay complaint, counted from delivery.
- Follow easyJet's current 21-day-from-flight online expense rule sooner, by 23 September in this example.
- Calendar the two-year court limit from the Convention event, without assuming correspondence stops it.
When dates are close, submit both heads immediately and label them clearly.
Prevent common failures
Do not rely only on a phone call. Written proof should show content and delivery. Do not throw away a damaged case before inspection. Do not provide only a card total without itemised receipts. Do not claim replacement cost for old items without age or ownership evidence.
Keep a single chronology with the flight, report, tracing updates, delivery, purchases and submissions. If easyJet rejects a timely claim, its response date does not create a fresh two-year Convention period.
Flight delay and cancellation use a different regime. See the easyJet claim guide for EC261 or UK261 rather than inserting a baggage demand into that form.
FAQ
Do I have 24 hours or seven days to report a damaged bag?
Report damage immediately and photograph it before leaving. easyJet currently requires the damage report and claim registration within seven days; the 24-hour portal rule is stated for a delayed bag.
Does a PIR stop every baggage deadline?
No. It records the irregularity but does not necessarily complete the written compensation claim or stop the two-year court period.
When does the 21-day delay period begin?
Under Montreal, it begins when the bag is made available to you. easyJet's commercial essential-item process currently asks for submission within 21 days of the flight, so act sooner.
What if a delayed bag arrives damaged?
Record delivery, photograph damage immediately and make both a delay claim and a written damage complaint. The seven-day damage period starts from receipt.
Does negotiating with easyJet extend the two years?
Do not assume so. Court time calculation depends on the Convention and procedural law, and correspondence may not suspend it. Obtain advice before the deadline.