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What Do I Do If My Bag Is Lost on My American Airlines Flight?

In a nutshell: Anyone traveling expects to arrive at their destination with the same number of bags they checked. Unfortunately, that doesn't always happen. If you flew with American Airlines and your bag has been lost, here are the steps you can take to notify the company and hopefully get it back.

Feb 24, 2026

Introduction

Anyone traveling expects to arrive at their destination with the same number of bags they checked. Unfortunately, that doesn't always happen. If you flew with American Airlines and your bag has been lost, here are the steps you can take to notify the company and hopefully get it back.

What You'll Need

Flight informationPictures of the bag pre-flight (if possible)

Go to the American Airlines Website

Visit the American Airlines website.

Locate the "FAQs" Link

Scroll all the way down the American Airlines homepage until you find the "FAQs" link. It's below "Conditions of carriage" and above "Contact."

Go to the "FAQs" Page

Click on the "FAQs" link. Doing so will take you to the page of the same name.

Locate the "Customer Service" Section

Scroll down until you find the "Customer service" section.

Locate the "Customer service FAQs" Link

Browse the "Customer service" section until you find the "Customer service FAQs" link at the bottom of the list.

Go to the "Customer Service FAQs" Page

Click on the "Customer service FAQs" link. Doing so will take you to the "Customer service FAQs" page.

Locate the "Bags" Section

Find the "Bags" section, which should be the first one on the page.

Look for the "Bags" Link

Find the "Bags" link under the "Bags" section. Click on it when you find it, which will take you to the "Bags" page.

Find the "Delayed or Damaged Bags" Link

Browse the "Bags" page until you find the link that says "Delayed or damaged bags."

Go to the "Delayed or Damaged Bags" Page

Click on "Delayed or damaged bags," which will take you to the "Delayed or damaged bags" page.

Find the Relevant Sections

The "Delayed or damaged bags" page offers information about what to do in your situation since your bag is currently lost. Browse the page and look for the "File a bag report" and "Delayed bags" sections, which should be the first two below the menu at the top.

Read the Sections

Read the "File a bag report" and "Delayed bags" sections on the American Airlines website.

Take Action

File a report with American Airlines to let them know that your bag is lost. If you need further assistance, please move on to Step 14.

Contact American Airlines Customer Service

Reach out to American Airlines customer service if you have questions or need assistance with filing a bag report. They can provide appropriate answers or guide you through the process.

Conclusion

If your bag was lost while flying with American Airlines, it's important to act quickly, ideally before you leave the airport. This helps get the process started right away. Should you have questions after, don't hesitate to reach out to the customer service team.

Further questions?

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Jeff truly believes that all customers deserve good service. He’s been building tools, inventing phone tree hacks and helping customers since before his days at GetHuman. He's also a Google GDE and involved in the Angular community.

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American Airlines

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What can I do if I lose my bags on my American Airlines flight
Reporting missing bags to American Airlines

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