Luggage at airport. Photo: Shutterstock Hundreds of thousands of bags are handled every day in air transport, and during holiday periods, the volume increases sharply. In most cases, luggage travels with passengers without issues. Still, delays, damage, or loss can occur, and TAROM has outlined the main reasons behind these situations, along with the steps passengers should follow and what compensation may apply, just ahead of Orthodox Easter (April 12, 2026).
According to TAROM, there are three main causes of delayed or lost luggage. One of the most common of them is related to short connection times between flights, when the time available to transfer luggage can fall below the airport’s minimum handling window. In such cases, bags may simply not make it onto the next aircraft in time.
A second factor is connected to airport infrastructure issues, including technical faults like conveyor belt breakdowns or system failures, which can and usually do significantly slow down baggage processing, leading to delays in loading luggage onto flights.
The third and most common issue is a lost or damaged luggage tag. If the identification tag breaks or detaches during handling, the bag may become difficult to trace and match with its owner.
To reduce the risk of losing baggage, TAROM recommends passengers place a card with contact details inside their suitcase or add a distinctive identifier. Even small personal details can help speed up recovery.
If your luggage fails to arrive at the destination or is visibly damaged, you should act straight away: report the issue at the Lost & Found office of the airline operating the final segment of the journey and fill in a Property Irregularity Report.
After that, you can submit a written complaint. For TAROM, this can be done via [email protected] or through the airline’s official website.
On average, most delayed bags are recovered within 24 to 48 hours and delivered either to the passenger’s home or hotel.
During this timeframe, passengers have the right to request reimbursement for essential expenses based on receipts, usually after the first 24 hours.
For damaged luggage, compensation can reach the value of the item, with a standard limit of around €140 without proof of purchase. With receipts, higher amounts may be approved. International limits follow the Montreal Convention, which sets compensation at up to 1,512 Special Drawing Rights (SDR), or the equivalent of roughly $2,000–$2,100 USD (approx. €1,880 or CAD $2,780).
Full details on baggage rules, rights, and procedures are available on the official TAROM website.