Lost or Damaged Baggage

We're sorry about your baggage—we're here to help. Let us know within four hours of arriving at your destination that your luggage is lost, delayed, or damaged. Please make a report in person to the Southwest Airlines Baggage Service Office (located in the baggage claim area or at the ticket counter). Or, if you've already left the airport, call 1-855-234-4654.

Please know that we are not liable for manufacturer defects or for minor damage arising from normal wear and tear, such as cuts, scratches, scuffs, stains, dents, punctures, marks, and dirt. Also, keep in mind that we are not liable for baggage carried in the passenger compartment of the aircraft or any items contained in a bag that was deemed to be overstuffed.

Go to the Southwest Airlines Baggage Service office located in the airport baggage claim area or at the ticket counter to report your delayed bag. The Southwest Airlines Baggage Service Agent will create a report and provide you with a receipt of this report. You will then receive updates regarding the status of your bag. We also provide a phone number that you can call to follow up on the status yourself.

We will make every effort to quickly recover and return your baggage to you to minimize the inconvenience caused by the delay. In most cases, we will deliver your delayed baggage to the location of your choice. You may also be advised of additional options by the Employees helping you locally, depending on the situation that caused your delay or the intended delivery location.

Instructions on how to file a claim for lost baggage will be provided to you at the time you make an incident report with one of our Employees at the airport. If your bag is not located by the local Baggage Service Office after five days, you may download the form necessary to pursue your claim with Central Baggage Services from our Baggage Claim Web Portal. Please have your incident number available in order to access the portal.

If you realize that you left an important item onboard the plane, please notify a Southwest Airlines Customer Service Agent before leaving the airport so he or she can try to retrieve the item. If you’ve left the airport, please contact our lost and found.

Please provide detailed information regarding the item (i.e. model/serial number, brand, size, color, etc.). We will make every effort to locate your item and return it to you. If you provide an email address you will receive regular communication on the status of the search for your item and will be contacted via email and phone if it’s located. If you do not provide an email address you will only be contacted by phone if your item is located.

If we have not located your item within 30 days from the time it was reported, it is not likely that it was turned in. While we make every effort to locate lost items, Southwest Airlines is not liable for unchecked items left on the plane.

Currently, this option is not offered on southwest.com. To check the status of your lost/delayed baggage, please call 1-888-202-1024, and a representative will provide you with a current status.

The report number is located in the center of the Lost/Delayed Report Receipt, below Customer Baggage Report Information.