Apple AirTags have quickly become a must-have accessory for travelers with checked luggage but, until now, there’s been one big problem with using AirTags as a luggage tracker.
Launched in April 2021 as a way for Apple users to keep track of commonly misplaced everyday objects like keys and wallets, the AirTag made a fairly quiet debut until its popularity soared as a cheap and lightweight luggage tracker.
AirTags works by transmitting a unique identifier via an inbuilt Bluetooth signal. The signal is picked up by any nearby Apple phone, which sends location information to Apple. The owner of the AirTag can then trace the last known location of the gadget via the ‘Find My’ app on their phone.
Unfortunately, many AirTag owners who have had their baggage lost in transit ended up hitting a brick wall when they contacted their airline to tell them where the luggage was.
They could see exactly where their luggage was via the ‘Find My’ app but airline baggage services weren’t set up to handle this information and users would have to wait until the airline got around to manually locating their luggage.
Now, however, Apple has come up with a solution to this frustrating issue and has already signed up 15 major international airlines to use a new ‘Share Item Location’ feature that is already available in most regions worldwide as part of the public beta of iOS 18.2.
The new feature allows AirTag owners to create a secure link that shares the location of their AirTag with someone else. Apple says that to ensure user privacy, the shared item link is disabled as soon as the owner is reunited with their items and can be stopped by the owner at any time.
For additional security, the link also automatically expires after seven days.
Some of the major airlines that will integrate the Share Item Location feature into their mishandled baggage processes include Delta and United Airlines, British Airways, Lufthansa, Qantas, and Virgin Atlantic.
Apple says that it has worked closely with the 15 participating airlines to put the necessary systems in place to accept Share Item Location links.
“We know many of our customers are already traveling with AirTag in their checked bags, and this feature will soon make it easier for them to share location information with us safely and securely, helping our customer service agents work more efficiently and giving our customers added peace of mind,” commented David Kinzelman, United’s chief customer officer, on Monday.
United plans to have the feature embedded within its baggage tracking systems by early 2025.
In the near future, SITA, a leader in air transport technology, will integrate the Share Item Location feature into its popular WorldTracer, the baggage-tracing system, which is used by 500 airlines and ground handling companies at more than 2,800 airports around the world.
The full list of airlines that will initially accept the Share Item Location feature are: Aer Lingus, Air Canada, Air New Zealand, Austrian Airlines, British Airways, Brussels Airlines, Delta Air Lines, Eurowings, Iberia, KLM Royal Dutch Airlines, Lufthansa, Qantas, Singapore Airlines, Swiss International Air Lines, Turkish Airlines, United, Virgin Atlantic, and Vueling.
Although currently in beta, the feature is expected to rollout as a free software update for iPhone Xs and later in the near future.
