Stroller Damaged by Airline: 10 Tips for 2026

If your stroller is damaged by an airline, you have exactly seven days from the moment you collect it to report the damage, otherwise your claim will be permanently lost. Broken wheels or a torn canopy cannot simply wait until you get home.

As soon as you land, go to the counter while you are still in the terminal and complete a damage report with a member of staff. You will also need your boarding pass and baggage tag to make a successful claim. Remember that some airlines, such as Smartwings, require a protective bag; otherwise, they may reject responsibility immediately.

This guide explains how to get your money back from the airline and what to watch out for before you even take off. The maximum compensation is around $2,175, so dealing with the matter promptly is definitely worth it.

TL;DR

• Stay in the transit area: If your stroller does not arrive or is damaged, never leave the airport terminal. Immediately look for the Baggage Claim counter.
• Strict seven-day deadline: You must report any damage to the airline in writing through its online form no later than seven days after collecting the stroller, otherwise your claim will be permanently lost.
• Maximum compensation limit: Under the Montreal Convention, the airline is liable for baggage up to approximately 1,519 SDR, which equals roughly $2,175.
• Key documents: To make a successful claim, you absolutely need your baggage tag, boarding pass and the PIR report completed at the airport.
• Smartwings rule: This airline expressly accepts no responsibility for damage to a stroller that was not packed in a protective bag or wrapped in protective film before being handed over.
• Missing car seat: If your car seat does not arrive, ask directly at the baggage claims counter, as some airports have spare seats available to lend or give away.

10 Tips for a Stroller Damaged by Airline

Let’s look at everything you should know when your stroller goes missing.

1. What to do immediately after landing if your stroller is missing

You are standing exhausted beside the baggage carousel, the information screen already says baggage delivery has finished, and your stroller is nowhere to be seen. At this point, it is absolutely critical that you do not leave the transit area or go through the one-way doors leading out to the taxis, because getting back to the claims counter would be unnecessarily difficult. Instead of panicking, look around the arrivals hall for a counter marked Baggage Claim, Baggage Services or Lost and Found, which is usually right next to the carousels.

This is where you need to show your passport, boarding pass and the small adhesive tag you were given at check-in. The airport employee will enter the tag number into the global tracking system and can very often tell you immediately where your stroller is. Sometimes staff simply have not had time to transfer it to your connecting flight, and it will arrive on another aircraft a few hours later.

At this counter, the employee will also complete a so-called PIR report with you. You will carefully provide the address of your hotel or apartment at your destination. Delayed baggage is usually delivered by an airport courier directly to the address you give them, so you will not need to return to the airport and can continue calmly to your accommodation.

2. The three essential documents for a successful claim

For the airline to even investigate your claim, you must prove beyond doubt that the stroller was actually travelling with you. The most important piece of paper is the baggage tag, the small barcode slip that check-in staff usually attach to the back of your passport or to your ticket. Without this tag, the airline’s system has no record that you had a stroller at all, and your chances of compensation drop close to zero.

The second essential document is your boarding pass, which clearly proves that you were physically travelling on the flight in question. If you use only electronic tickets in a mobile app, always take a screenshot of the screen just in case, because the boarding pass may unexpectedly disappear from the app after the flight.

The third pillar of a successful claim is the previously mentioned PIR report (Property Irregularity Report), which you obtain at the claims counter at the airport. To this essential trio of documents, add detailed photos of any damage. Ideally, take them in the arrivals hall before you take the stroller out into the city.

3. The strict seven-day deadline for a written claim

It often happens that you land with your family at two in the morning, your child is crying inconsolably, and you quickly grab the stroller from the carousel and run for a taxi. Three days later, in your hotel room, you discover that the stroller has a cracked frame that dangerously collapses under the slightest pressure. This is when you run into the rule tired parents most often miss: the strict seven-day deadline for reporting damage in writing.

These seven days from collecting your baggage are a firm deadline set by international law, and once it has passed, carriers generally reject claims without compromise. Treat this deadline as completely non-negotiable and do not wait until you return home from your holiday.

If you discover the damage at your accommodation, immediately find the baggage claim form on the relevant airline’s website and complete it online. With this electronic claim, remember to attach all the documents you photographed: a copy of the PIR report, baggage tag, boarding pass and, of course, clear photos of the damaged parts of the stroller.

4. The Montreal Convention and compensation limits

On all international flights, you are protected as a passenger by the Montreal Convention, which clearly defines an air carrier’s responsibility for your belongings. This legal protection applies both to standard checked baggage transported in the hold and to strollers handed over immediately before boarding at the aircraft. The airline therefore accepts full responsibility for the destruction, loss or damage of your child’s equipment throughout the entire period of carriage.

However, this responsibility is certainly not unlimited and has clear financial caps. Under the convention, the maximum compensation is around 1,519 SDR (Special Drawing Rights), which comes to roughly $2,175 at a standard conversion rate.

So if you are travelling with a luxury stroller from an expensive limited edition whose purchase price exceeds this international limit, the airline will not pay you the difference. In that situation, you must rely on comprehensive travel insurance, or, better still, avoid taking such an expensive stroller on the plane and choose a cheaper alternative for travelling.

5. Stroller bags and airline liability

Many parents hand over their stroller at the gate folded up with no cover at all, leaving it at the mercy of airport workers who toss it onto a cart with the other suitcases. This may be accepted by some more accommodating airlines, but with others, this approach automatically closes the door to any future compensation. For example, the Czech carrier Smartwings expressly states in its terms that it accepts no responsibility for damage to a stroller that was not properly packed.

A stroller bag, or at least careful wrapping in thick shrink-wrap film, is therefore not merely a cosmetic recommendation but an actual condition for accepting a compensation claim. I am not listing any specific bag brands here because the principle of protection is always the same, whether you use an expensive branded cover or sturdy film from a hardware store.

When packing, however, pay close attention to where staff attach the baggage tag. The tag must always be visible on the outside of the cover so airport scanners can read it. Have the stroller tagged first, then pack it and attach the tag to the film, or ask the staff to print one additional spare tag.

6. A damaged car seat and alternative solutions at the airport

When your stroller goes missing, it is a major inconvenience, but with a baby carrier or by walking, you can manage with a toddler for a while. If a checked car seat also fails to arrive, however, you have a much more serious problem because you cannot legally get from the airport to your hotel in a rental car. In Spain, for example, children under 135 cm must use a certified seat, with a €300 fine for non-compliance; in Italy, the requirement applies up to 150 cm.

Taxis may be exempt from this requirement in some countries, but that does not solve the problem of your rental car at the car hire desk. In this kind of emergency, our in-depth research suggests that it is worth asking directly at the baggage claims counter, because some airports are well prepared for situations like this.

At the Baggage Claim counter, staff may lend you or even give you a replacement car seat from their supplies of abandoned or spare equipment. Always ask whether they have a seat available to borrow, because there is nothing to lose by asking and it could save the rest of your journey.

7. What to do if the airline rejects your claim

When your stroller is destroyed, you essentially have two parallel ways to seek reimbursement. The first is the air carrier’s liability under the Montreal Convention. You do not pay an excess, but the process is often highly bureaucratic. The second is your commercial baggage travel insurance, which is usually limited by various sub-limits and always takes depreciation based on the item’s age into account.

The usual procedure is to submit an official claim to the airline first. If the carrier pays only part of the damage or rejects the claim for a reason covered by your policy, you can take this rejection decision to your insurer and request payment up to the limit of your cover.

Be very careful never to receive double compensation for the same item, because you cannot receive the full price from the airline and then claim the same amount from your insurer. The insurer will therefore always ask you to provide the airline’s official decision and a copy of the PIR report from the airport to prevent insurance fraud.

8. How to reduce the risk of damage at check-in

The best claim is, of course, the one you never need to make during your holiday, so prevention before departure is essential. Just before handing over your stroller at the aircraft gate or check-in desk, take detailed photos of it from several angles with your mobile phone. Modern phones save the exact time and GPS location with the photo, giving you strong evidence that it was in perfect condition before you handed it to airport staff.

Airport sorting belts are unforgiving when it comes to baggage, so you must remove everything that sticks out from the stroller. Take off the cup holder, plastic tray, parasol and attached toys, and put them in your carry-on bag, because these small items are the first things likely to snap off in the hold.

If you are handing over the stroller without a bag, make sure it is firmly secured in its transport lock and, for extra safety, tighten a luggage strap around it so it cannot unfold on its own. If you have a two-part stroller, meaning a separate chassis and carrycot, ask at check-in for a tag to be printed and attached to each piece separately. Otherwise, the airline may never accept the loss of an untagged part.

9. Flight delays and compensation for a baby

While damaged baggage and strollers are covered exclusively by the Montreal Convention, delays affecting passengers themselves fall under EU Regulation 261/2004. If your family flight is delayed by more than three hours, you may be entitled to financial compensation, but when small children travel on a parent’s lap without their own seat, this area is highly disputed in legal practice ⚠️. Some sources say infants are also eligible, while others disagree, and individual airlines’ practices vary considerably.

My advice is simple: if a delay occurs, always submit a compensation claim for your child. It costs you nothing, but be prepared for the airline to put up a fight. Regarding passenger rights, it is useful to know that a revision of this regulation was approved in July 2026. It will guarantee children under 14 free seating next to a parent, but because of the transitional period, it will not actually take effect until the middle of 2027.

When it comes to a child’s baggage, however, the situation is perfectly clear. If the child has their own checked baggage or a stroller with its own tag, the Montreal Convention fully covers it, regardless of whether the child has a paid seat in the cabin.

10. Liquid and medication limits for a stress-free flight

Once you have handed over your stroller safely, you still have the flight itself to manage with your child, including specific rules for food and health. If you are flying from Prague Airport, remember that the more relaxed liquid rules, allowing containers of up to two litres, have applied since October 2025 only in Terminal 2. Terminal 1, used among others by Ryanair and Wizz Air for flights outside the Schengen Area, still has the strict limit of 100 millilitres per container.

The good news is that baby food, boiled water for formula and purées are exempt at airports worldwide. You can take enough for the journey regardless of the airline’s liquid limit, because these rules are controlled by the airport itself.

When it comes to calming your child during the flight, I never recommend sleep medication, and particular caution is needed with the frequently discussed melatonin. Melatonin must not be given to children under two, and for older children it should be used only after consulting your paediatrician, so it is better to rely on favourite toys and plenty of attention.

Practical summary and indicative costs

Rules for travelling with children’s equipment and dealing with problems are governed by clear limits. Here is a handy table showing how many pieces of equipment selected airlines will carry free of charge.

If you are wondering how to hand over your stroller at check-in without losing your right to make a claim, follow these rules:

What to read next

If you are planning a summer holiday or your first flight with a baby, you will also find our other articles useful. We cover travelling with children in detail.

• Flying with children: the complete guide
• Taking a stroller on a plane
• Taking a car seat on a plane
• Baggage for children on a plane
• AirHelp review: claiming flight compensation

Frequently asked questions