European court clarifies complaint procedure for baggage damage

In case of damage or loss of baggage you are required to report this to the airline in writing and within a certain period. If you neglect to do this or are too late, you lose the right for compensation. What about when you file your complaint over the phone? The European Court clarifies this issue in a statement.

A young woman sitting cross-legged on the floor next to a suitcase, looking excited and surprised, holding a phone in one hand and a passport with a boarding pass in the other.

Complaint about missing baggage

Ms Mäkelä-Dermedesiotis flew from Malaga (Spain) to Helsinki (Finland) with the airline Finnair. On arrival in Helsinki she noticed multiple items had disappeared from her baggage. That same day Ms Mäkelä-Dermedesiotis contacted Finnair customer service by phone in order to file a complaint. Finnair customer service employee registered the complaint and entered the information provided by the passenger into the carrier’s information system.

Certificate of damage claim

Two days later the passenger again telephoned the Finnair customer service in order to obtain a certificate for her claim. The passenger needed the certificate in order to appeal for damages with her insurance company. The insurance company (Fennia) reimbursed the losses and claimed repayment from Finnair.

Fennia versus Finnair

Finnair disputed the claim by arguing that Ms Mäkelä-Dermedesiotis had not filed a written complaint within the period of seven days following receipt of her baggage. The highest judge in civil and criminal cases in Finland has asked the European Court of Justice for clarification in this case.

Statement of the European Court of Justice

The European Court of Justice states that a passenger has to file a written complaint within the predetermined time period. This time period is 7 days for damage to baggage, and in case of delayed baggage, 21 days after receipt. In this specific case the complaint from the passenger was registered in Finnair’s information system within the predetermined period. This registration meets the written form requirement according to the Court. Finnair is thus obligated to reimburse the costs.

“Article 31(2) and (3) of the Montreal Convention must be interpreted as not precluding the requirement of being in a written form from being regarded as fulfilled in the case where, with the knowledge of the passenger, a representative of the air carrier records in writing the declaration of loss either on paper or electronically in the carrier’s information system, provided that that passenger can check the accuracy of the text of the complaint, as taken down in writing and entered in that system, and can, where appropriate, amend or supplement it, or even replace it".

Read more about this statement C-258/16