What if my luggage is misplaced at the airport
and I have already booked for Kilimanjaro?

Most organized and successful tour operation companies are flexible and already braced for such altercations. They can fix you in a new group and not change the price. Either, there are some occasions to which some tour operators will reflect back the situation to their cancelation policies and have to add some amount. You have to familiarize yourself with the cancelation policy of a tour operator before you book. Also, we recommend you take the travel insurance it is in situations like this that it gets you covered for additional nights in Tanzania and even the loss of the bag shall it not be ever found. Checked in luggage may at times get misplaced and not arrive with you at the airport. Generally luggage that is displayed on its way to Kilimanjaro is reunited with its owners 24 hours but there are occasional of 3 to 4 days.

Another way if the airline loses your bags, make sure you get a written claim for damages. This may require a different form than the original missing luggage form. This can be done at the airport or online. As long as airlines have been checking baggage, they’ve been sending a few somewhere other than where they were supposed to go. If your luggage have been lost at airport don’t panic because on airplane the security is improved so your bag are not lost but may be delayed. And in most cases an airline can reunite you with your baggage within 24 hours. After you determine that your bags or luggage has been lost go immediately to your airline’s lost baggage counter, ask any airline employee where to go. Even if you have someplace you need to be, report missing baggage before you leave the airport.

When filing your claim, give the attendant a hotel or home address, as well as a phone number where you can be reached. Hand over your baggage check and write down the numbers and fill out the form, making sure to get a copy of any relevant tracking numbers, websites, and phone numbers some airlines have an online system while others will provide you with a phone number to call for updates.

The name of the agent that handles your claim as well as the estimated time your bag will arrive. If your bags are on the next flight, you could have them within a few hours. If they’ve been sent to the wrong airport, it could take a couple of days. If your baggage is delayed on a connecting itinerary involving more than one airline, you deal with the airline that flew you to your final destination, even if you think the first airline was responsible. Airlines are normally bringing you your luggage when it is found you will rarely need to return to the airport to pick it up. If you’re staying at a hotel or resort, alert the front desk about an incoming bag wherever you are. Airlines usually deliver delayed bags at no cost to you, but some may ask you to pay.

If an airline doesn’t get your bag back to you within five days, the bag may be truly lost. An airline defines “lost” at anywhere from five to 30 days, at which point both you and the airline proceed on the assumption that you’ll never see your bag again. If the airline loses your bags, make sure you get a written claim for damages. This may require a different form than the original “missing luggage” form. This can be done at the airport or online. The airlines typically have a long list of items for which they will not be held responsible; these include jewelry, money, heirlooms, and other valuables. These items should always be left at home or packed in your back pack bag. Any lost baggage claim process is obviously a negotiation. Airlines will typically cover only the depreciated value of whatever you say you lost, not the original purchase price. They will ask for receipts, even for a suit you bought 10 years ago. You may go back and forth several times before reaching a deal.

The responsibility of lost luggage on airplane is for airline. Once an airline determines that your bag is lost, the airline is responsible for compensating you for your bags' contents subject to depreciation and maximum liability limits. Contact your airline and make a claim for compensation for the lost luggage. Such also reduces chance of missing flight to Kilimanjaro if cross atlantics flight gets delayed. Contact your airline, and make a claim for compensation for the lost luggage. Be careful to report the value of items accurately; airlines often look out for exaggerated claims. If your bags are not there, speak to an airport official and file a lost luggage claim.

What are airlines’ responsibilities when they damage your baggage?

Airlines are responsible for repairing or reimbursing a passenger for damaged baggage and its contents when the damage occurs while the bag is under the airline’s control during transportation. Airlines are not responsible for pre-existing damage to the bag or if the damage was caused by improper packing. When the damage to the bag cannot be repaired, airlines will negotiate a compensation amount based on the value of the bag and its depreciation.

Airlines often exclude liability for certain categories of items. These exclusions are typically listed in the airlines’ contracts of carriage. For Domestic travel, airlines are not required to compensate passengers for items they have excluded in their contracts of carriage. For International travel including the domestic segment of an international itinerary, airlines are responsible for these items if they have accepted them for transportation. This applies even if passengers did not disclose, when they checked-in, that these items were packed in the bag.

Passengers may wish to consider purchasing additional insurance for valuable items. Although airlines are not required to cover fair wear and tear, airlines cannot exclude liability for damage to wheels, handles, straps, and other components of checked baggage.

What should a passenger do if his or her bag is missing after taking a flight?

When a checked bag does not arrive at its destination, airlines are responsible for locating the bag. Airlines have tracking systems in place to try to identify the bag’s location. Some airlines now offer applications for cell phones, tablets, and other electronic devices, which provide passengers with data on the location of their baggage. It may be helpful to use this technology to locate your baggage, if available. Passengers should file a baggage claim with their airline as soon as possible. Passengers should stay in close communication with the airline after filing a claim and during the baggage location process.

Responsibilities of airlines when your bag is delayed

Airlines are required to compensate passengers for reasonable, verifiable, and actual incidental expenses that they may incur while their bags are delayed - subject to the maximum liability limits. Airlines are not allowed to set an arbitrary daily amount for interim expenses. For example, an airline cannot have a policy that they will reimburse a passenger up to only $50 for each day that a passenger’s bag is delayed.

When does an airline consider a bag lost?

Airlines may have different policies to determine when a bag is officially lost. Most airlines will declare a bag lost between five and fourteen days after the flight, but this can vary from one airline to another. Whether your bag is declared lost May also depend on the type of itinerary whether more than one airline is responsible for the flight, the airline’s searching mechanism, and other circumstances. If an airline unreasonably refuses to consider a bag lost after it has been missing for an unreasonable period of time, the airline could be subject to enforcement action by the dot.

Once an airline determines that your bag is lost, the airline is responsible for compensating you for your bags’ contents - subject to depreciation and maximum liability limits. Airlines are also required to refund any fees you paid the airline to transport the bag that was lost. Airlines may require receipts or other proof for valuable items that were in the lost bags.