Your suitcase didn’t come out on the carousel, the crowd has thinned, and the belt has stopped. It’s a horrible feeling, but what you do in the next hour genuinely matters. Here’s the exact sequence, based on how baggage claims actually work at Paris airports.

Step 1: Do NOT leave the terminal

This is the single most important rule. Once you walk out of the baggage claim area, filing a claim becomes dramatically more complicated, some airlines won’t accept in-person reports at all after you’ve exited, and you’ll be stuck doing everything online from your hotel.

Every terminal at CDG and Orly has a baggage service desk (« service bagages ») inside the arrivals hall, usually near the carousels. Look for your airline’s desk or the handling company that represents it. If you can’t find it, ask any airport staff member: “Où est le service bagages ?”

Step 2: File a PIR report, and keep the number

The document you need is called a PIR (Property Irregularity Report). It’s the official record that your bag didn’t arrive, and it’s the key to everything that follows: tracking, delivery, and compensation.

At the desk, you’ll need your baggage tag (the sticker they put on your boarding pass or passport at check-in) and your boarding pass. The agent will give you a file reference number, photograph it immediately. Everything else in this process depends on that number.

Step 3: Photograph everything

Before you leave the desk, take photos of: your baggage tag, your boarding pass, the PIR report itself, and the desk agent’s contact information if provided. If your bag had distinctive features (a ribbon, a sticker, damage), mention them in the report, it genuinely helps identification.

Step 4: Ask about immediate essentials

If you’re away from home, most airlines are required to cover reasonable essential purchases while your bag is delayed, toiletries, underwear, a phone charger. Ask the agent directly what the airline covers and how to claim it. Then keep every receipt for anything you buy. Without receipts, reimbursement is nearly impossible.

Step 5: Track your claim online

Most airlines use the WorldTracer system, the agent will tell you which site to use. With your PIR reference number, you can follow your bag’s status and update your delivery address (useful if you’re moving between hotels).

What happens next?

The good news: the vast majority of delayed bags are found and delivered within 48 hours. Airlines deliver to your hotel or apartment, you don’t need to return to the airport.

If your bag hasn’t been found after 21 days, it’s officially considered lost, and you can file a full compensation claim. Under the Montreal Convention, airlines are liable up to roughly €1,600 per passenger, but you’ll need to document the contents and their value, which is much easier if you photographed your packed suitcase before traveling (a good habit for next time).

One last tip

Deadlines matter: for delayed baggage, you generally have 21 days from delivery to claim expenses in writing; for damaged baggage, only 7 days. Don’t sit on it.

Dealing with a lost bag when you’re jet-lagged, don’t speak French, and just want to start your vacation? We handle the calls, the follow-ups, and the paperwork for you, in French, so nothing gets lost in translation. Chat with Voila Service → voilaservice.fr