Study Abroad Q&A: What to Do If Your Luggage is Lost

Imagine: you’ve spent days (okay weeks…) pulling together the necessary things for your time abroad and neatly packing them. The day comes for you to proudly roll your bag up to the check-in desk, and as they weigh in at 49.5 pounds each, you send them off to get loaded onto the plane. A day of traveling later, you groggily wait at the carousel for your luggage to round the corner. And then you wait some more, cursing the carousel-loader that put your bags on last. Finally, it hits you. Your luggage is lost, floating somewhere between your initial and final destination, and all you want to do is cry. Let that lone tear fall; it’s been a long day. We get it. But, then, snap yourself out of it. HC already told you what to do! 

Before you leave there are a few precautionary measures you should take in the event of your luggage getting lost, one of which is taking a quick tally of what you packed. Now, some may advise you to write down every single, solitary thing you packed — down to how many pairs of underwear you stashed in your bag. If you feel so inclined as to do so, be my guest. On the other hand, if you’re running around completing last-minute tasks and have no time to be that detailed, fear not. Just do a quick count of the general things you care about (number of pants, shoes, etc.) and more thorough descriptions of the really important things (your favorite $200 necklace). This list will give you something to go off of when telling the airline’s customer service what was lost. Another important thing to do is pack a change of clothes and a toothbrush in a carry-on. Hopefully, your luggage will eventually be located and sent to you, but that will still take a day minimum, so having some essentials will make you one happy girl (relatively speaking).

Now, onto how you should deal once you realize, oh-my-gosh-my-bags-are-lost! As mentioned above, let the tear fall if it needs. It might happen, but don’t psych yourself out and do not leave the airport thinking you’d be better off handling the situation in the comfort of your own hotel room or home stay. Many airlines have a time limit regarding how many hours after landing you can make a lost luggage claim. So, pull out the luggage slips that were printed for you when you checked in. (You kept them right? Those are super important, collegiettes™!) Immediately approach your airline’s counter to alert them; they’ll need to refer to those luggage slips to identify and attempt to locate your bags. Each airline differs a little, but most likely you’ll be told that you can track your bags online and will be notified upon any changes. From there, you’ll be playing a bit of a waiting game. Don’t lose hope — most luggage is eventually found and returned to its rightful owner.

If, unfortunately, your suitcases are never found, book a layover in Alabama  — home of the Unclaimed Baggage Center  — on your return flight, cross your fingers, and start searching!