This page goes deeper on one part of the policy. The full record is at Philippine Airlines Baggage Rules.
Philippine Airlines lost baggage is reported at the Baggage Assistance Counter in the arrival area, or through the airline’s Baggage Issue Reporting Portal if you have already left. You get a reference number at the end of the report.
On an international flight, a bag still missing on the seventh day moves to the Baggage Claim Form. The Montreal Convention caps what PAL pays.
The Philippine Airlines record holds the allowance figures. This page is the missing bag side. How to report, how PAL traces, the day 7 rule, the US phone line, what PAL excludes on a damaged bag, and what a lost bag is worth.
Reporting a bag that did not arrive
PAL’s baggage assistance and tracking page is direct. As soon as you notice the bag is missing, go to the Baggage Assistance Counter in the arrival area and file a report. You receive a reference number at the end of the process.
If you cannot report in person, PAL’s Baggage Issue Reporting Portal files the report online and shows updates on a filed one. Either way the reference number is what every follow up needs.
At Manila the international counter in Terminal 1 runs 24 hours a day. The domestic counter in Terminal 2 runs from 4 AM to midnight local time.
Each has its own email address, BaggageServicesINT and BaggageServicesDOM at pal.com.ph. The site’s guide to reporting a lost bag covers what makes the description useful.
Philippine Airlines lost baggage tracking
PAL says it searches for the bag using the airline shared system, which is WorldTracer. It contacts you with any update.
The reference number from the counter is the key to that search. The Baggage Issue Reporting Portal shows the status of a filed report.
For follow up by phone, PAL lists its reservations hotline as the number for delayed, missing and damaged baggage. From the United States and Canada that is 1-800-435-9725, and the line runs 24 hours a day. The general lost bag tracking guide explains what each WorldTracer stage means.
Day 7: the Baggage Claim Form
PAL sets a clear marker for international flights. If the bag is not found by the seventh day after the report, you complete the Baggage Claim Form for further processing. That form is the start of the contents claim rather than the delay claim.
The Montreal Convention still gives the outer deadlines. A delay must be reported in writing within 21 days, and damage within 7 days of receiving the bag. Filing at the counter on the day, then the claim form on day 7, keeps a US traveler inside both.
Interim expenses while the bag is delayed
PAL’s page does not print a daily allowance. Every PAL flight to or from the United States is international and falls under the Montreal Convention.
That makes the airline liable for the reasonable costs a delay causes, up to the compensation limit below. Claim through the counter or the portal with receipts and the reference number.
Keep the purchases to toiletries and a change of clothes for a traveler away from home. The site’s delayed baggage guide covers what airlines generally pay and what they refuse.
When a delayed bag becomes a lost bag
PAL’s day 7 form starts the process. The Montreal Convention’s 21 days is the point at which a passenger may treat the bag as lost and claim for its contents.
Between day 7 and day 21 the search continues while the claim is prepared. After 21 days the claim is for the bag itself.
The contents claim needs an itemized list with values and receipts where they exist. The guide to lost luggage compensation explains how airlines depreciate used items and what documentation holds up.
What a claim is worth
On a Philippine Airlines lost baggage claim from the United States, liability is capped at 1,519 Special Drawing Rights per passenger. That is the Montreal Convention figure the US Department of Transportation publishes, in force since 28 December 2024. PAL’s own page says only that its liability remains limited unless a higher value was declared in advance.
The DOT domestic limit of 4,700 USD does not apply, because PAL operates no domestic US flights. Declaring a higher value at check-in, or travel insurance, are the routes above the cap. The baggage insurance and card cover guide covers the second.
Damaged bags: what PAL excludes
Report damage at the counter on arrival. PAL records the details and offers immediate assistance where needed. Its exclusion list is longer than most.
It excludes cuts, scratches, scuffs, dents and marks. It also excludes damage to or loss of straps, pockets, pull handles, hanger hooks, wheels, external locks, security straps and zipper tabs.
Damage from improper packing or overpacking is excluded too, as is anything accepted under a Limited Release Tag.
That list means a broken wheel or a torn strap is not a claim on PAL, where it often is elsewhere. A crushed shell or a split seam still is. Photograph the damage at the belt with the tag visible, and read the damaged luggage claims guide before arguing.
Left behind and wrong bags
PAL asks arriving passengers to match the numbers on the claim tag before leaving. If you take someone else’s bag or leave without yours, contact the counter immediately.
Claiming a left behind bag on an international flight needs a copy of your passport, including the entry stamp page, and a completed Customs Declaration Form. Release runs Monday to Friday, 8 AM to 5 PM.
What claims run into
Traveler accounts of Philippine Airlines lost baggage cases cluster around Manila connections. A tight change after a long transpacific flight leaves the bag a day behind.
Those bags are usually found and delivered. The friction is the damage exclusion list, which turns down many wheel and handle claims that other carriers would pay.
The other pattern is the reference number. Calls to the hotline without it go nowhere; calls with it get a status.
Prevention: a tracker and a tag
An Apple AirTag in the bag turns a search into a delivery request. Showing the counter a live location moves the file from missing to delayed.
Android travelers get the same from a Samsung Galaxy SmartTag2. Both run on coin cells allowed in checked bags.
A pair of Travelambo leather luggage tags with a phone number on the outside gets a bag home when the airline tag tears off. Given PAL’s exclusion list, a hardside with recessed wheels is worth more here than on most carriers.
The bottom line
A Philippine Airlines lost baggage claim starts at the Baggage Assistance Counter or in the Baggage Issue Reporting Portal and lives on its reference number. On an international flight the Baggage Claim Form is due on day 7. The Montreal Convention lets you treat the bag as lost at 21 days, and the cap is 1,519 SDR.
Call 1-800-435-9725 from the United States with the reference number and keep receipts for the interim. Expect PAL to refuse wheel, strap and zipper damage. Put a tracker in the bag so the counter has a location instead of a description.
Common questions
How do I report lost baggage on Philippine Airlines?
Go to the Baggage Assistance Counter in the arrival area as soon as you notice the bag is missing and file a report, or use PAL’s Baggage Issue Reporting Portal if you have already left. You receive a reference number for tracking.
How do I track my delayed Philippine Airlines bag?
PAL searches through the shared WorldTracer system and contacts you with updates. The Baggage Issue Reporting Portal shows the status of a filed report, and the US and Canada hotline is 1-800-435-9725, 24 hours a day.
When does Philippine Airlines consider a bag lost?
On international flights PAL asks you to complete the Baggage Claim Form if the bag is not found by the seventh day after the report. Under the Montreal Convention you may treat the bag as lost after 21 days.
How much does Philippine Airlines pay for lost luggage?
On an international flight liability is capped at 1,519 Special Drawing Rights per passenger under the Montreal Convention unless a higher value was declared in advance.
Does Philippine Airlines pay for a broken wheel or handle?
No. PAL’s damage policy excludes wheels, pull handles, straps, pockets, external locks, zipper tabs, scratches, dents and damage from overpacking. A crushed shell or a split seam is still a claim.
What do I need to collect a bag I left behind on Philippine Airlines?
On an international flight, a copy of your passport including the entry stamp page and a completed Customs Declaration Form. Release runs Monday to Friday from 8 AM to 5 PM.
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