Lost baggage and complaints at Banjul International Airport

Report at the airport before you leave

GIA is the ground handler at Banjul. Its ground operations page says it uses World Tracer to trace and track missing baggage for arriving passengers. Agents keep each baggage file in a digital tracking system that other stations can see ¹.

GIA says it processes claims for delayed, damaged and pilfered baggage. Its staff fill in baggage irregularity forms for passengers who want to claim a money refund from the airline ¹. Keep a copy of the form and your file reference.

GIA lists lost and found, help for passengers with reduced mobility and services for unaccompanied minors among its passenger services. Its senior station manager, Omar Ceesay, is listed on +220 9962790 (provider page) ¹. The page gives no deadlines and no refund times ¹.

Your rights under the Montreal Convention

The Gambia acceded to the Montreal Convention of 1999 on 10 March 2004. It entered into force for The Gambia on 9 May 2004 ². The convention sets airline liability on international journeys between states that are parties ⁴.

The carrier is liable for destroyed, lost or damaged checked baggage, except where the damage comes from a defect in the bag itself ³. If the carrier admits the loss, or the bag has not arrived 21 days after it should have, the passenger can claim against the carrier ³. A passenger can declare a higher value at check-in and pay any extra sum the airline asks ³.

ICAO reviews the limits every five years. The limits below took effect for all parties on 28 December 2024 ⁴. The 2019 figures come from the Civil Aviation Authority of Thailand's notice of the same revision ⁹.

Deadlines for complaints

• Damage to checked baggage: complain at the latest within 7 days of receiving it ³.
• Delay of baggage: complain within 21 days of the date the bag was placed at your disposal ³.
• Every complaint must be in writing. A late complaint bars a court action, except in a case of fraud by the carrier ³.
• Court action must start within 2 years of arrival, of the date the aircraft should have arrived or of the date carriage stopped ³.
• You may sue where the carrier is domiciled, where it has its principal place of business, where the contract was made or at the destination ³.

Flights to and from Europe

EU air passenger rights apply to flights that depart from the EU on any airline, and to flights arriving in the EU from outside on an EU airline ⁵. They do not apply if you already received benefits for the same problem under the law of a non-EU country ⁵.

For cancellation or denied boarding, the EU sets compensation at €250 for flights of 1,500 km or less, €400 for flights of 1,500 to 3,500 km and €600 for flights over 3,500 km. No compensation may be owed in extraordinary circumstances ⁵.

The EU page says to send your complaint to the airline first. If there is no reply within 2 months, or the reply does not satisfy you, complain to the national enforcement body in the country where the incident happened ⁵.

Who else can help in The Gambia

The GCAA licenses airlines and enforces safety, security and operational standards ⁷. Its air transport page covers policy, economic regulation and traffic statistics. It describes no passenger complaints process ⁸. This site found no published GCAA passenger complaints channel as of October 2026.

The Gambia Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (GCCPC) works under the Consumer Protection Act of 2014. In March 2020 it said it takes complaints about defective goods, false advertising and unfair trade practices. It refers serious cases to the Attorney General's Chambers ⁶. The briefing did not mention airlines ⁶.