LOST, DAMAGED, AND DELAYED BAGGAGE

As Turkish Airlines, we take great care to ensure that your baggage reaches your destination safely, completely and without being exposed to any damage. However, as can be in all sectors, some unwanted disruptions (weather conditions, technical disruptions, human mistakes, etc.) can occur in aviation as well. In this context, in cases such as;

• Not receiving your baggage at the end of the flight, 
• Receiving your baggage in damaged condition, 
• Receiving your baggage late,
• Receiving your baggage with missing belongings inside, 

Or forgetting your belongings on the plane after your flight, below you may access detailed information about the steps you should follow and the disruption processes. 

We would like to share certain tips that you can apply prior to travel in order to prevent from the baggage disruptions or avoiding them with minimum loss.

• Do not include any valuable (money, jewellery, credit card etc.), critically important (medicine, keys, business papers, etc.), unique (hand writings, family souvenirs, art works, etc.) and fragile (electronic devices, glasses, glassware, musical instruments, etc.) items in your baggage that you will deliver at check-in. 
• Avoid travelling with your baggage that was damaged in your previous travels. In the case that the damaged area gets enlarged, the baggage might become unusable or your belongings inside it may get damaged. 
• Use TSA approved baggage lock. In the case that your baggage is opened due to security reasons, your baggage will have been prevented from getting damaged.
• Including a paper with your name, telephone number and e-mail address in your baggage will help delivery of your baggage to you in the case that your baggage tag comes off. 
• If there is no room left in the overhead cabinets, your cabin baggage can be taken to the hold baggage part. Therefore, you should locate your important or fragile belongings (money, passport, medicine, computer, etc.) in a way that can be easily taken out of the cabin baggage. If you will not take such belongings out of your cabin baggage, please notify the cabin attendant about the situation. 

For making an application and following up your older application regarding all baggage disruptions that you have encountered, please visit the webpage baggage disruption notification and tracking. Until your application is concluded, continue to keep your baggage tag and boarding pass. 

All information and documents that you will provide from the beginning due to baggage disruptions are processed within the scope of the Personal Data Protection Law, the details of which you may learn by clicking here. 

You can follow up the detailed information regarding baggage disruptions in the chapter below.

If your baggage has not been delivered to you at your destination point after your flight, you can apply to the Turkish Airlines Lost and Found Office at the relevant airport or to the Lost and Found Office of the Ground Services company providing service. Upon your application, you will be provided with a reference number (PIR/Baggage Disruption Report number, e.g.: ISTTK12345) regarding your lost baggage.

You are required to keep your baggage tag and boarding pass with you for further procedures until your baggage will be delivered to you. 

For baggage without baggage tag and baggage that seen as without tag in our system, the necessary searches are made for identification of the baggage; however, no assessment is made for any pecuniary loss that may arise.

While handing over your baggage to the attendants at check-in process, make sure that a copy of your baggage tag is delivered to you.

In the cases where your baggage has not been delivered to you, you must necessarily apply to the Turkish Airlines Lost and Found Office at the relevant airport or to the Lost and Found Office of the Ground Services company providing service. A report must be issued for your baggage to be searched properly and the process to be maintained and your loss to be indemnified in the case that your baggage is unable to be found.

• Turkish Airlines Lost and Found Office at the airports or the Lost and Found Office of the Ground Services company providing service: It is the place where you must apply with your documents and receive a report at the first moment you fail to receive your baggage.
• Online application baggage disruption notification and tracking: Online applications is the field in the case that you have left the airport without having a report issued or already having a report issued and to which you must apply for tracking your baggage.

In the case that our passengers leave the airport without getting their baggage, the pecuniary loss that may arise shall be under the responsibility of our respective passenger. In the case that you have been unable to find your baggage on the baggage delivery conveyors, you must apply to our Offices at the airport. 

If the airline with which you have taken your last flight was not Turkish Airlines, please apply to the airline with which you have taken your last flight. However, if you have travelled with a Star Alliance member airways company, you can apply to any member airways company.

Your baggage shall be tracked by our offices at the route on which you have travelled during the first 5 (five) days. This search shall be carried out through the International Baggage Tracking Systems, which is also in the use of hundreds of airways companies. Most of the lost baggage are identified within 24 hours and delivered to our passengers as soon as possible.

Rarely unwanted delays may happen in the delivery times due to operational reasons. For lost baggage unable to be identified within a period of 5 days, a detailed and priced list of the belongings in your lost baggage shall be requested for further detailed tracking of the baggage.

In cases where you do not receive a request, you may visit the page baggage disruption notification and tracking and create a new notification. You can also add a document or write a message to the new notification you have created afterwards. In your message, the details you will provide regarding the appearance (colour, brand, size, etc.) and content of your baggage are important for your baggage to be more swiftly identified and delivered. Under the light of the information and documents you communicate, your baggage shall be elaborately and intensely tracked by our relevant units for 21 days.

For your baggage failed to be delivered to you, you can apply to Turkish Airlines Lost and Found Office at the airports or the Lost and Found Office of the Ground Services company providing service, receive the reference number (e.g. ISTTK12345) generated on your name, and make an application through our page baggage disruption notification and tracking with the documents related to the compulsory expenditures (invoices, credit card slip, etc.) you have made throughout the delivery process.

For the compulsory expenditures you have made, you must necessarily keep the official documents such as invoices, credit card slip, etc. or the documents proving the expenditures in order to submit them during application. Your compulsory expenditures without invoices shall be regarded based on your declaration.

You are required to make this application in written within 21 days at the latest from the date on which you receive the baggage. The applications to be made after the mentioned period shall not be taken into consideration pursuant to the international protocols.

For your baggage that has been lost for a while and later delivered to you in damaged condition or with missing belongings, you may apply to us in written with your report number generated by our relevant office for your lost baggage within 7 days following your receipt of the baggage.

If you identify that any damage has occurred on your tagged baggage, you must first apply to Turkish Airlines Lost and Found Office at the airports or the Lost and Found Office of the Ground Services company providing service before leaving the airport, and have a report issued with your documents. For compensation of the damage occurred or your missing belongings, you may make an application via our page baggage disruption notification and tracking with the required documents and your report.

If you are unable to file a report at the airport due to an issue caused by Turkish Airlines, you can submit an application via our website's baggage problem notification and tracking page within seven days. Applications submitted after this time period will not be evaluated in accordance with international agreements.

In order for the evaluation of your request regarding damage to be performed, you must necessarily send the photos of your damaged baggage/belongings and of the baggage tag for a swift evaluation. 

Our relevant unit shall elaborately evaluate your each request and swiftly provide you with the necessary information. Please make your application without leaving the airport and do not forget to have a report issued.

If the airline with which you have taken your last flight was not Turkish Airlines, please apply to the airline with which you have taken your last flight. However, if you have travelled with a Star Alliance member airways company, you can apply to any member airways company.

Our enterprise shall not be responsible for;

• Damages on your baggage having occurred before the flight, 
• Company failures arising from the manufacturing of your baggage, 
• Wear, scratches, discolouration and cosmetic bruises happened in relation with use, 
• Damages on the external items on your baggage that is defective due to use (e.g. zippers and zipper straps, belts or name tags). 

Proper protection and packaging of the items in your baggage are under the responsibility of you, our esteemed passengers. Please pay attention not to carry your belongings that are failed to be properly protected, and are spoilable or sensitive and fragile in your baggage. Turkish Airlines shall not be responsible for such disruptions or defects. 

For example;

• A musical instrument protected inside a cloth case, 
• Items inside a taped nylon bag, 
• Glass/porcelain ornaments placed inside the baggage, 
• Electronic devices placed inside the baggage without protection,
• Liquid substances in glass/plastic/tin can placed inside the baggage,
• Television/monitor failed to be packaged in a way to prevent damage,
• Boxes, sacks, nylon bags and drums not qualified as baggage.

In the case that your baggage is mistakenly taken by another passenger, getting damaged in that while, or any other pecuniary problem arises after your baggage arrives on the conveyor, Turkish Airlines shall not be held responsible unless such damage is caused by Turkish Airlines. 

For any questions regarding baggage, you may visit the Frequently Asked Questions by clicking here. 

For any information regarding Registered Baggage, Baggage Measurement, Cabin Baggage, Baggage Restrictions, etc., you may visit the respective part by clicking here.

Your forgotten belongings on our planes or in our lounges are taken under record. In such cases, the pecuniary losses that may arise shall be under the responsibility of our passengers. For getting information about your belongings, you may fill in the form via our page baggage disruption notification and tracking and contact us. In order to facilitate identifying your forgotten belongings, please send the photo of the item if available. For confirming the owner of the electronic devices, IMEI numbers or other detailed information may be requested. 

In the case that your belongings forgotten on the plane is identified, you may receive your belongings from our airport offices, or your belongings can be sent to you via courier provided that you accept the legal and material responsibility. 

For your belongings forgotten in other sections of the airport, you may visit the website of the relevant airport and obtain information about the relevant processes.