Lufthansa Airlines Liability

Last updated: 31 October 2026.

What Lufthansa owes you rests on its Conditions of Carriage and, on international trips, the Montreal Convention. Amounts are in Special Drawing Rights (SDR).

Limits

Death or injury of a passenger

No maximum. For damages up to 151,880 SDR (about EUR 190,000) the airline cannot argue lack of fault; above that it must prove no fault. Advance payment within 15 days, at least 16,000 SDR (about EUR 20,000) on death.

Baggage damaged, lost or destroyed

1,519 SDR (about EUR 1,800)

Baggage delay

1,519 SDR (about EUR 1,800)

Passenger delay

6,303 SDR (about EUR 7,800), unless the airline took all reasonable measures

• A checked bag is covered even without any fault, unless it was already damaged; a cabin bag only where the airline or its staff were to blame.
• You can raise the limit by declaring a higher value at check-in latest and paying the surcharge.
• Liability never goes beyond the proven damage, and indirect or consequential loss is covered only for gross negligence or wilful acts.
• The airline is not liable for harm caused by items inside your baggage, and you must cover damage they cause to other bags or to the airline.
• Where the airline damages your mobility aid, it drops the cap and pays true value or repair cost.

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Time limits

• Damaged checked baggage: report it right after discovery, and at the latest within 7 days of acceptance. Taking a bag with no complaint is treated as accepting it in good order.
• Damage from delay: notify within 21 days of delivery.
• A lawsuit must be filed within two years of arrival, or of the date the plane was due.

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Delayed baggage

• File a report before you leave the airport, ideally online as well as at the tracing desk. Online reports are normally accepted for about three days after landing, but a late report shifts the burden of proof to you.
• You get a reference number (PIR number), can follow the status and subscribe to updates; the bag is delivered to your address or held for collection.
• If five days pass without a result, supply a full contents list on the status page.
• Keep receipts for essentials such as toiletries and clothes, which can be reimbursed. On US flights the airline aims to return a bag within 24 hours and refunds baggage fees for lost bags.

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Questions travellers ask us

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Baggage Allowance is an independent information site and is not part of Lufthansa. Check the airline's own pages before you travel.