Last updated: 31 October 2026.
On international trips the Montreal or Warsaw Convention governs, together with the airline's own Conditions of Carriage (the version dated 28 December 2024). The amounts below are in Special Drawing Rights (SDR).
1,519 SDRper passenger limit for checked and unchecked baggage (Montreal Convention)
151,880 SDRup to this amount the airline waives the "all necessary measures" defence for injury or death
7 daysto complain in writing about damaged checked baggage
21 daysto complain about delayed baggage
Limits
- Death or injury (where the Convention applies)
- The airline does not cap recoverable compensatory damages. For the first 151,880 SDR the airline will not argue it took all necessary measures. Advance payments are made to meet urgent needs.
- Baggage, Montreal Convention
- 1,519 SDR for each passenger, covering checked and unchecked bags together, or the higher value you declared for checked baggage
- Baggage, Warsaw Convention
- 17 SDR per kilogram of checked baggage, 332 SDR for cabin baggage; if the weight is not recorded, the allowance for your class is assumed
- Other limits take over where the law of the journey sets them. For trips entirely within the USA, federal rules set a floor of USD 1,250 a passenger.
- Baggage damage is the airline's responsibility only where its negligence caused it, unless the Convention says otherwise. It is not liable for delays beyond what the Conditions and Convention provide.
- No liability for losses that could not be foreseen, lost profits, or indirect and business losses.
- If more than one airline carries your bag, you may claim against the first or last carrier; every carrier follows its own conditions for its section.
Items and damage that are not covered
- Breakables and perishables, artwork, cameras, cash, jewellery, precious metals, laptops and other electronics, optical and photo gear, digital items, silver, prescription drugs, negotiable papers, business or legal papers, passports and similar valuables packed in checked bags.
- Poorly packed bags, pre-existing damage, defects in the bag itself and ordinary wear, including damage to or loss of parts that stick out such as straps, pockets, pull handles, hanger hooks and wheels.
- Harm caused by the contents of your baggage; you must pay for damage that your property causes to others or to the airline.
- Aggravation of a condition linked to your age or health.
Time limits for claims
- Checked bag damage: write to the airline at once on finding it, and in any case within 7 days of collecting the bag.
- Late bags: put your complaint in writing within 21 days of the bag being handed over.
- Court action must begin within two years of arrival, of the date the aircraft should have arrived, or of when carriage stopped.
US flights
- For flights to or from the USA, the airline aims to bring a late bag to you within a day and to repay sensible, necessary costs. If a bag is lost, the Montreal Convention decides the payment where it applies, and the bag fee comes back.
Questions travellers ask us
What is the limit for a lost bag?
Under the Montreal Convention, 1,519 SDR a passenger, per the December 2024 conditions.
How long do I have to report damage?
At once, and by letter within 7 days of collecting the bag.
Is there a limit if I am injured?
Not on proven compensatory damages under the Convention.
Baggage Allowance is an independent information site and is not part of Malaysia Airlines. Check the airline's own pages before you travel.
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