Qatar Airways Liability

Last updated: 31 October 2026.

This page sums up the limits set out in the airline's carriage conditions, which follow the Montreal Convention on international flights. A "special drawing right" (SDR) is an accounting unit set by the International Monetary Fund; its money value changes every day. Where a country's own law gives different limits, those limits apply.

Limits for international flights

Death or injury of a passenger

For proven damage up to 151,880 SDR (about USD 200,500) the airline accepts liability without a cap. Above that figure it is not liable if it proves it was not at fault, or that only a third party was at fault.

Advance payment after a death or injury

Within 21 days of identifying who is entitled, enough to meet immediate needs; at least 16,000 SDR per passenger in a death

Loss, damage or delay of baggage, checked and unchecked together

1,519 SDR per passenger (about USD 2,000)

Delay of the passenger

6,303 SDR per passenger (about USD 8,300), unless Qatar Airways proves it took every reasonable step or none was possible

• Under the older Warsaw Convention, checked bags are covered at USD 20 (17 SDR) a kilo, and unchecked bags at USD 400 (332 SDR) per passenger.
• The caps do not apply if the harm was done on purpose, or recklessly with awareness that it would probably follow.
• A higher value declared and paid for at check-in replaces the cap, provided you can prove the loss.
• For travel that is not by air, liability for death or injury arises only from negligence, to a maximum of 16,600 SDR unless local law differs.
• The airline denies responsibility for illness, injury or death that stems from your own health, unless an accident happens while boarding, in flight or leaving the aircraft.
• It is also not responsible for harm that follows from obeying laws, or from your failing to obey them. It answers only for what happens on its own flights; on other airlines' sectors it acts as agent.

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Baggage the airline will not cover

• Breakable or perishable goods, and valuables placed in checked baggage: money, jewellery, precious metals, computers, personal electronic devices, shares and bonds, other valuable papers, business documents, passports and identity documents.
• Earlier damage, and ordinary wear from handling such as minor cuts, scratches, scuffs, dents, punctures, marks and dirt.
• Damage caused by something inside your bag. You are responsible for harm your baggage does to other people or property, including the airline's.
• You must prove the actual value of what you lost. For lost baggage on Brazilian flights, residents can claim emergency expenses of USD 75 a day in Business or USD 50 in Economy for up to three days.

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Deadlines

Damaged checked baggage

Complain at once on discovering it, and within 7 days of receipt, in writing

Delayed baggage

In writing within 21 days of the bag being handed to you

Court action for damages

Within 2 years of arriving, or of the date the aircraft should have arrived, or of the date carriage stopped

• Report missing or damaged bags at the airport before leaving. The airline's lost-baggage page has an online form.
• For flights to or from the USA, Qatar Airways commits to deliver delayed bags within 30 hours where it can, to reimburse reasonable expenses caused by the delay, and to refund any baggage fee for a lost bag.

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Delays, cancellations and denied boarding

• Under its Conditions of Carriage, Qatar Airways' remedy for a cancelled or delayed flight is a seat on another flight, re-routing or a refund. See the Refunds page.
• Qatar's passenger-rights regulations, which the airline publishes on its site, set fixed amounts for covered flights: 50 SDR for a delay of three to six hours and 150 SDR beyond six hours.
• Other regions apply their own laws, such as the EU liability notice on the Qatar Airways site.

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Questions travellers ask us

What is the most Qatar Airways pays for a lost bag?

1,519 SDR per passenger under the Montreal Convention, unless you declared a higher value.

How soon must I report damage?

At the airport if possible, and in writing within 7 days. Delayed bags must be reported within 21 days.

Can I put valuables in checked baggage?

No. Money, jewellery, electronics and documents are excluded.

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