Delayed, Lost, or Damaged Baggage

Domestic flights

Handling irregular baggage transportation

  • 1. In the event of delays, loss or damage to baggage during transportation, China Southern Airlines or a China Southern Airlines agent will fill out a "Baggage Transportation Accident Record" with the traveler. The situation and its cause will be investigated as quickly as possible, and the results of the investigation passed on to the traveler and relevant units.Compensation may be arranged at the point of origin, any stopover locations or the point of destination, if necessary.
  • 2. In the event that the traveler's checked baggage is not able to arrive on the same flight as the traveler due to a problem on the part of China Southern Airlines (and therefore inconveniencing the traveler's travel plans), the traveler should be provided with compensation for necessary items.

Baggage compensation

Responsibilities of China Southern Airlines

  • 1. China Southern Airlines shall be liable for any delays, losses or damage to checked baggage from the time the baggage is hecked in to the time it is delivered to the traveler.
  • 2. China Southern Airlines shall not be liable in the event that it can prove that all necessary measures to prevent delays and losses were taken, or that it was not possible to take such measures.
  • 3. China Southern Airlines shall not be liable in the event that the damage to the checked baggage was entirely caused by the natural properties, quality or defects of the baggage.
  • 4. China Southern Airlines shall not be liable in the event of injury to the traveler or baggage caused by items packed in the checked baggage.The traveler shall compensate China Southern Airlinesfor all losses and pay all resultant fees incurred as a result of items packed in checked baggage causing injury to others, damage to the belongings of others or damage to the property of China Southern Airlines.
  • 5. In the event of loss of or damage to items that are not permitted to be packed in checked baggage, China Southern Airlines shall only be liable for compensation in accordance with general checked baggage.
  • 6. In the event of connecting transportation, China Southern Airlines shall only be liable for compensation for damage to baggage occurring on routes for which China Southern Airlines is the carrier.

Compensation limits

  • 1. The compensation amount for completely or partially damaged or lost checked baggage shall not exceed CNY 100 per kilogram.In the event that the value of the baggage is less than CNY 100 per kilogram, compensation shall be made in accordance with the actual value.
  • 2. The weight of the lost baggage shall be calculated in accordance with the actual weight of the checked baggage. If the weight of the lost baggage cannot be determined, the maximum compensation available shall be based on the free baggage allowance allowed for each traveler.
  • 3. In the event that baggage is damaged, compensation shall be made according to the loss of value caused by the damage, or equal to the amount of the repair fees.In the event that baggage is damaged, the amount of compensation awarded shall not exceed CNY 100 per kilogram, based on the weight of the baggage itself.
  • 4. In the event that the traveler has already declared the value of the lost baggage, China Southern Airlines shall award compensation in accordance with the declared value.If the declared value of the baggage is higher than the actual value, compensation shall be based on the actual value.
  • 5. In the event of the loss of carry-on baggage or free carry-on items caused by an event occurring when boarding or disembarking the plane, or while on the plane, China Southern Airlines shall award a maximum of CNY 3,000 per traveler in compensation.
  • 6. For the compensation for baggage loss, the excess baggage fee charged for the lost baggage shall be refunded, while the eclared Value surcharge collected shall not be refunded.
  • 7. Baggage compensation for domestic legs of an international trip shall be awarded in accordance with compensation regulations for international baggage transportation.
  • 8. China Southern Airlines shall notify travelers as quickly as possible in the event that lost baggage for which compensation has been made is subsequently discovered.Travelers must repay any compensation in full when reclaiming their baggage. However, compensation for necessary items does not need to be repaid.In the event that the traveler has obviously engaged in fraudulent activity, China Southern Airlines is entitled to recover the compensation in full.

Compensation requests

In the event that a traveler's checked baggage is lost or damaged, a compensation request should be submitted to China Southern Airlines or a China Southern Airlines service agent before the expiration of the claims period. The customer's ticket or itinerary (photocopy), baggage identification tag, the "Baggage Transportation Accident Record," evidence proving the contents of the baggage and its price and any other relevant evidence should be submitted along with the request.

Claims deadline

In the event that checked baggage is lost, the person with the right to make a claim should submit a written objection to China Southern Airlines upon discovering the loss.In the event that checked baggage is lost, the written claim should be submitted between seven and twenty-one days after the date on which the baggage should have been received.A Transportation Accident Record for damaged or contaminated luggage must be submitted to the carrier (or agent) before leaving the baggage reclaim area. Any claims must be submitted within seven days of the submission of the Accident Record.In the event that checked baggage is delayed, any claims must be submitted within twenty-one days from the date on which the baggage is delivered to the customer.

International flights

Handling irregular baggage transportation

  • 1. In the event of delays, loss or damage to baggage during transportation, China Southern Airlines or a China Southern Airlines agent will fill out a "Baggage Transportation Accident Record" with the traveler. The situation and its cause will be investigated as quickly as possible, and the results of the investigation passed on to the traveler and relevant units.Compensation may be arranged at the point of origin, any stopover locations or the point of destination, if necessary.
  • 2. In the event that the traveler's checked baggage is not able to arrive on the same flight as the traveler due to a problem on the part of China Southern Airlines, inconveniencing the traveler's travel plans, the traveler should be provided with compensation for necessary items.

Baggage compensation

Limits of Liability

  • 1. For flights that meet the conditions of the Montreal Convention, the limit of liability for each passenger’s checked baggage and non-checked baggage is 1288 SDR (Special Drawing Rights);
  • 2. For flights that comply with the standards of the Warsaw Convention, the limit of liability for baggage is 17 SDR per kilo. If the actual loss of baggage is less than this standard, compensation shall be made according to the actual loss. The limit of liability for non-checked baggage is 332 SDR;
    The value of the SDR is about $1.37, and the exchange rate is subject to fluctuation.
  • 3. If the weight of the checked baggage is not recorded on the passenger ticket, the amount of baggage used to calculate the compensation amount shall not be higher than the amount of free baggage enjoyed by the passenger's corresponding cabin class.

Time limits for claims and litigation

  • 1. Time limits for objections
    • a. Travelers should raise an objection with China Southern Airlines as soon as they discover their checked baggage is missing. Objections must be raised no later than seven days from the date on which the baggage should have been received.In the event that baggage is delayed, an objection must be submitted no later than twenty-one working days from the day on which the baggage is delivered to the recipient.
    • b. All objections must be submitted in writing within the time limits specified above. If the objections are not submitted within these time limits, no claims may be submitted to China Southern Airlines.
  • 2. Claims and litigation must be submitted within two years from the date on which the plane arrives at its destination, or should have arrived at its destination, or the day on which the transport terminated.