Southwest Airlines baggage policy: How to submit claim for lost or missing luggage

Southwest Airlines baggage overflowing at Orlando International Airport

Many are stranded at Orlando International Airport after Southwest airlines cancelled thousands of flights over the past week.

ORLANDO, Fla. - Those who booked flights with Southwest Airlines are experiencing travel nightmares not only at Orlando International Airport but across the U.S. The company has left many stranded — including its staff – after canceling thousands of flights over the last couple of days due to the winter storm over the Christmas holiday and residual impacts.

At OIA – like other airports – Southwest's baggage claim area was overflowed with unclaimed bags and luggage on Wednesday afternoon, possibly the result of flights being canceled after people had already checked their luggage.

Southwest Airlines' CEO said it had to reduce its flight schedule – resulting in the cancelations of more flights – for the next couple of days to get its planes and crews into position to operate more flights, hopefully, by next week.

If your luggage is lost or missing, here is how to submit a claim through Southwest Airlines.

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What do I do if Southwest Airlines lost my luggage?

For those who were scheduled to travel between Dec. 20-27, 2022, and have lost or missing luggage, Southwest Airlines late Wednesday made a separate web page for people to submit a baggage report, www.southwest.com/baginfo.

There is an online form that will need to be filled out.

You will want to have the following information ready:

Reservation confirmation number
First and last name
Email address
Phone number
Departure date
Departure airport and destination airport
Bag manufacturer, bag type, color, and delivery method.

When located, people will have the option to pick up their luggage at the airport or have it delivered to them, according to Southwest's website.

If you're traveling with Southwest and the airline has lost your luggage, the company asks that you let them know within four hours of arriving at your destination. Once you realize your baggage is missing, you can make a report in person to the Baggage Service Office that's located in the baggage claim area or at the ticket counter.

An agent will create a report and provide customers with a receipt while giving updates on the status of the luggage.

The company also said they're not liable for "manufacturer defects or for minor damage resulting from normal wear and tear, such as cuts, scratches, scuffs, stains, dents, punctures, marks, and dirt."

If a customer's bag isn't located after five days, they can download the claim form using their incident number to access the portal.

The Southwest CEO issued a statement apologizing for the cancelations:

"I want everyone who is dealing with the problems we've been facing, whether you haven't been able to get to where you need to go or you’re one of our heroic Employees caught up in a massive effort to stabilize the airline, to know is that we're doing everything we can to return to a normal operation."

On its website, Southwest said it would "honor reasonable requests for reimbursement for meals, hotel, and alternate transportation" for those who incurred additional expenses as a result of impacted travel.