Separate four files
Cancelled or delayed flight
Keep the booking, boarding pass, carrier notice and relevant receipts. Passenger rights depend in part on the route and operating carrier.
Delayed, lost or damaged baggage
Report promptly at baggage services, obtain a written reference and follow the carrier and FOCA written-notice process.
Necessary expenses
Keep reasonable purchases and receipts. Neither the carrier nor insurer automatically reimburses every purchase.
Private assistance
Use the policy number and record the contact, any organisation provided and any authorisation given.
Which party handles which issue?
Several reports may be needed, each based on a distinct responsibility.
Flight disruption
Contact the operating carrier, retain its response and check the scope of passenger rights with FOCA.
Baggage disruption
Open the baggage file on site, document condition or absence and send required notices without waiting for the insurer.
Insurance benefit
Notify with the carrier record, inventory, useful ownership evidence and costs that remain unpaid.
Security situation
Follow local authorities first; Travel Admin and Swiss representations add consular information but decide no compensation.
Avoid common errors
- Do not delay the carrier report while waiting for an insurer response.
- Keep regulatory carrier assistance, goodwill, ticket refund and private insurance benefits separate.
- FOCA monitors certain air-passenger rights but says it does not decide civil baggage disputes.
Future cover only
Prepare future trips
A new policy does not change the cover that applies to an event that has already happened and does not guarantee reimbursement. It is only for preparing future trips.
Checked Swiss federal sources
Each source language is stated. The FDFA, FOPH and FOCA publish authority information; Fedlex contains federal law. The detailed FOCA baggage source falls back to French because no equivalent English detail page was available when checked. The English Fedlex text is a reference translation; the German, French and Italian legal texts and the applicable policy control.
- FDFA — Travel Admin – the FDFA travel appEnglish · Voluntary trip registration, advice, crisis notifications, Swiss representations and local emergency numbers; the app is not insurance.↗
- FOCA — Air Passenger RightsEnglish · Scope of air-passenger rights, denied boarding, cancellation, delay and the first complaint to the operating carrier.↗
- FOCA — Bagages endommagés, perdus ou acheminés avec du retardFrench official page · Official FOCA page on carrier liability, prompt reporting and written notice. At verification, the detailed official baggage page was not available in English, so this source intentionally falls back to French.↗
- Fedlex — Federal Act on Insurance Contracts (ICA, SR 221.229.1)English reference translation · Reference translation covering pre-contract information, policy content, notification duties and claim handling; the German, French and Italian legal texts are authoritative.↗