What To Do If Your Luggage is Delayed in Madrid
In October 2022, I arrived at the Adolfo Suárez Madrid–Barajas Airport (MAD) after almost twenty-four hours of traveling in planes and airports, and my worst travel fears came true—my luggage did not arrive on the baggage claim carousel. I was making my big move to Spain from the USA, so you can imagine my frustration and anxiety when I fiiiiiiiinally arrived and my luggage was nowhere to be found.
Eventually, I did end up retrieving my luggage, but I made a few mistakes along the way, and there are some things I wish I would have known about navigating the Madrid airport and the KLM airlines delayed baggage system. If you’d like to read about my international travel during my move abroad, check out my article: Moving to Spain - My Nightmare Travel Story.
In this post, I share a few pieces of information I wish I would have known as I anxiously tried to retrieve my delayed luggage.
Table of Contents:
The delayed luggage help desks are located within the secure area of the Madrid airport.
The international delayed luggage desks close overnight.
Luggage delivery services may delay your baggage even longer.
1. The delayed luggage help desks are located within the secure area of the Madrid airport.
At the Adolfo Suárez Madrid–Barajas Airport, the delayed luggage help desks, along with baggage claim, are located within the secured area. Therefore, after exiting the baggage claim area, it is difficult to get back inside to retrieve your baggage once it arrives. The “do not enter” signs scared me a bit, but multiple employees at airport information desks assured me I could enter the secured area through one of the following two ways:
You can wait for the automatic doors at the baggage claim to open when arriving passengers exit. If you arrived on an international flight, this option may be tricky, because you’ll have to time it right so that you’re waiting at the automatic doors when international flights arrive. (This option did not work for me, because I was in a bit of a time crunch, and I had to retrieve my luggage early in the morning before international flights began.) You can also ask an information desk employee for a list of upcoming arriving international flights. Once you enter the secure area, you’ll need to have your boarding pass (from your flight to Madrid) ready to show the guards inside. You can show the guards your boarding pass and explain that you need to pick up your delayed luggage.
The other option is to find a security guard somewhere in the airport and ask them to help you enter the secure arrivals area to retrieve your luggage. If you choose this option, you should also explain that there are no flights set to arrive anytime soon. Again, be sure to have your boarding pass (from your flight to Madrid) ready to show the guards. Once you enter, you will also need to show your boarding pass to the guards on the inside and explain that you need to pick up your delayed luggage.
2. The international delayed luggage desks close overnight.
At the Madrid airport, the international delayed luggage desks close overnight. I’m not sure what time exactly they close and reopen, but if you plan to return to retrieve your bags later, you should be sure to ask an employee at the delayed luggage desk for their hours before you exit the secure area.
3. Luggage delivery services may delay your baggage even longer.
If you decide to take the airline up on their offer to deliver your luggage to your hotel or residence, keep in mind that this option may keep your bags from getting to you longer than necessary. It might be more convenient to have your bags delivered rather than having to return to the airport for them, but if you’re in any rush to get your bags, this might not be the best option for you.
I asked KLM to deliver my bags to my hotel in Madrid, and they said they would deliver my luggage later that night once it arrived at the airport. However, my luggage did not get delivered to my hotel that night—which was suuuuper stressful because I had a morning flight the next day. I ended up having to return to the airport extra early the next morning to pick up my bags. If I could do this over, I would have told them I would pick up my bags in person that night.
I know from experience that delayed luggage makes travel extremely stressful, so if your luggage has been delayed, I feel for you!
I hope this article makes the process of retrieving your delayed baggage a bit easier than it was for me to retrieve my own. Good luck!
