Baggage Delayed Compensation
I’m in a dispute with Etihad over a delayed baggage claim and want to know what my options are.
Flight was Etihad EY021 from Abu Dhabi to Toronto on 5 April 2026. We were 3 passengers, including 2 small kids. None of our checked bags arrived, and we filed a PIR immediately. After a long trip, hours at the airport, jet lag, and arriving from Dubai into cold Toronto weather, we had no clothes or essentials and later bought only necessary emergency items totaling CAD 655.39.
Etihad rejected the claim saying the purchases were made outside the “eligible period” because, according to them, 2 bags were delivered on 6 April and the last bag on 7 April. But the baggage emails I received only said the bags were “prepared to be delivered” on later dates, which doesn’t prove actual delivery. Nobody from Etihad told me during the delay that I had to buy essentials before some specific cutoff time either, even though I emailed and called them asking about reimbursement.
What makes it worse is that Etihad only gave a substantive response more than a month after I made the claim, and then rejected it on this timeline argument.
What are my options from here? I want to make sure I at least get reimbursed for the CAD 655.39 I spent on emergency items, and honestly I feel I should be compensated for the hassle as well.