How to Claim Lost or Damaged Baggage at a Pakistani Airport
Bag missing at a Pakistani airport? File a PIR at the desk, then meet the legal deadlines: 3 days for damage, 14 for delay, 21 days before it counts as lost.
If your bag does not arrive at a Pakistani airport, report it at the airline's baggage desk before you leave the hall and get a Property Irregularity Report (PIR). Then follow the legal clock. On a domestic flight, damage must be reported in writing within 3 days and a delay within 14 days. A bag still missing after 21 days counts as lost, and you can claim.
The belt stops, the hall empties, and your suitcase is not there. What you do in the next 20 minutes matters more than anything later. We read the Carriage by Air Act 2012, as amended in 2026, on the government's Pakistan Code website, and the published conditions of two Pakistani airlines. The deadlines below come from the law itself.
Report a missing bag at the airport before you leave
Go to the airline's baggage services or lost and found desk in the arrivals hall. Show your boarding pass and the baggage tag sticker that was put on your ticket or passport at check-in. Ask for a PIR, the standard form airlines use to start a search.
AirSial's published conditions say the PIR is filed "on the prescribed Form available with the airline staff at the airport". SereneAir's baggage page says passengers "must report at Airport office", and that the baggage tag "is essential for the claim". Without the tag, your claim is much harder to prove.
On the form, describe the bag in detail: colour, type, brand, any ribbon or mark, and what is inside. Give a phone number and an address where the bag can be delivered. Take a photo of the completed PIR and keep its file reference.
The legal deadlines for lost, delayed and damaged bags
The Carriage by Air Act 2012 has two sets of rules. The Fourth Schedule applies the Montreal Convention to international flights. The Fifth Schedule applies similar rules to flights inside Pakistan, with shorter deadlines for complaints.
| Problem | Domestic flight | International flight |
|---|---|---|
| Bag damaged | Complain within 3 days of receiving it | Complain within 7 days of receiving it |
| Bag delayed | Complain within 14 days of getting it back | Complain within 21 days of getting it back |
| Bag lost | Claim once 21 days pass without it | Claim once 21 days pass without it |
| Going to court | Within 2 years of arrival | Within 2 years of arrival |
Every complaint must be "in writing". The Act is blunt about the cost of missing a deadline: if no complaint is made in time, "no action shall lie against the carrier, save in the case of fraud on its part." So a phone call to a helpline is not enough. Send an email or a letter and keep a copy.
The airline is liable for checked baggage that is lost, destroyed or damaged while in its charge. It is not liable for damage caused by a defect in the bag itself. For hand baggage, it is liable only if it or its staff were at fault.
Claim lost or delayed baggage in five steps
- Get the PIR at the airport. Do this before you pass customs and leave the hall, with your boarding pass and baggage tag.
- Keep receipts for what you buy. Damage from a delay has to be proved, so keep the bill for anything you must replace while you wait.
- Write to the airline within the deadline. Quote the PIR reference, flight number and date. For a delayed bag, send it as soon as the bag comes back.
- File the airline's claim form after 21 days. AirSial says its Baggage Claim Form is made after 21 days and not accepted after 36 days from when the bag should have arrived. SereneAir asks for its Baggage Claim Form within 14 days for a missing or delayed bag.
- Escalate if the airline refuses. You have 2 years from arrival to go to court, as explained below.
The airline's form deadline can be shorter than the law's. Follow whichever date comes first, so neither one can be used against you. Before your next trip, it is also worth checking your domestic baggage allowance, since PIA warns that bags breaking its size, weight or packing rules may be delayed or offloaded.
How much the airline pays
Compensation is capped by law and by the airline's conditions. You must prove what you lost. The cap is a maximum, not a fixed payout.
- AirSial domestic: its conditions limit liability for lost or damaged bags to Rs 1,000 a kilogram for each passenger.
- AirSial international: up to 1,000 SDR a passenger, "or as otherwise provided in the Applicable Law". The SDR is the International Monetary Fund's basket currency.
- Delay on a domestic flight: under the Fifth Schedule, the airline pays the damage you prove or double the fare, whichever is smaller. It can avoid this if it proves it took all reasonable measures.
The amended Act sets the domestic baggage limit per kilogram, but the published text on Pakistan Code did not show the figure clearly for us, so we have not quoted it. Check your own airline's conditions of carriage for the current number.
There is one way to raise the cap. At check-in, you can make a "special declaration of interest" in the bag and pay a supplementary sum. The airline then pays up to the declared value. For valuables, the better rule is simpler: carry cash, jewellery, laptops and documents in hand baggage. SereneAir says it assumes no liability for valuable items in checked bags.
Take the claim to the Consumer Court if the airline refuses
The amended Act defines the court for these cases as the Consumer Court, or another court notified by the federal government where there is none. Section 5A tells that court to pass its final order within six months. If it does not, the case runs day to day and the delay is reported to the High Court.
Your file should hold the ticket, boarding pass, baggage tag, PIR, your written complaints with dates, receipts, and the airline's replies. Our page on taking a complaint to consumer court covers the filing itself. For PIA bookings, ticket changes and refunds are a separate route, set out in PIA ticket refunds online.
Common questions
When is a delayed bag treated as lost?
When it has not arrived 21 days after the date it should have. Then you can claim as for a lost bag, on both domestic and international flights.
How long do I have to report a damaged bag?
3 days from receiving it on a domestic flight, and 7 days on an international flight. The complaint must be in writing.
What is a PIR?
A Property Irregularity Report. It is the form the airline's baggage desk fills in at the airport to start searching for your bag. Keep its reference number.
Can I claim if I left the airport without reporting?
You can still complain in writing within the legal deadline, but proof is harder. Report at the desk whenever you can.
How much compensation will I get for a lost bag?
Only what you prove, up to the cap. AirSial's conditions cap domestic claims at Rs 1,000 a kilogram for each passenger.
Where do I complain if the airline does not pay?
The Consumer Court, within 2 years of arrival. The amended Act asks it to decide within six months.
How we verified this
What we checked, where we read it, and what we could not confirm.
Last checked on 1 October 2026. We read the Carriage by Air Act 2012 on Pakistan Code, including the 2026 amendments, sections 2, 5 and 5A, and rules 17, 22, the timely notice rule and the two year limit in the Fourth and Fifth Schedules. We read AirSial's published conditions of carriage and SereneAir's baggage policy. The Act's per kilogram limits did not render in the published text, so we quote only the airline's figure. We did not lose a bag or make a claim.
About the author
Tax, Bills and Technology Writer
Ali Akhtar is a young and curious voice here at Pakistan Era. He is currently pursuing his A-Levels and has a growing interest in Pakistan’s changing industrial landscape and educational trends. Ali likes to write in a way that helps him explain and explore the world around him. His writing reflects the perspective of the new generation navigating the evolving trends of Pakistan where technology, youth innovation, and shifting opportunities are reshaping the country’s future.
