Mishandled luggage incidents are on the rise but Apple AirTags are helping travelers keep track.
AlexSecret/Getty Images/iStock/Illustration by SFGATEOakland resident and travel TikToker Leone Pierce was already in a bind when she had to add a long stopover in Singapore on her way home. To add insult to injury, unlike other passengers, her luggage didn’t circle the carousel once she arrived at her stopover.
“I pleaded with them to send someone to the tarmac to find my luggage since it had somehow gone unnoticed in the system. The situation was becoming more urgent with each passing minute, as my frustration grew,” Pierce told SFGATE.
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FILE: The tarmac at Singapore Changi Airport in March 2020.
Xinhua News Agency/Getty ImagesBut it wasn’t enough that she could show Singapore Airlines employees that she had proof that her luggage was on the tarmac — she had to convince an employee to help her, and after an hour of pleading, she found someone willing to listen.
“One of the staff members, intrigued by my determination and the tracking data, decided to take action. He communicated with the ground crew and discovered that my luggage had been sitting somewhere, yet to be transferred to the baggage ramp,” Pierce said.
When she went back to check the baggage carousel once again, an airport employee had located the bag and set it out in the baggage claim area.
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While finding the bag required some extra legwork on her part, the miniature tracking device proved to be worth the cost.
Why travelers are choosing AirTags
Pierce isn’t the only traveler taking matters into her own hands when it comes to luggage. Travel influencers recommend AirTags all over social media, especially as busy travel resumes following the height of the pandemic.
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Mishandled luggage incidents have increased from 5.6 per 1,000 passengers in 2019 (pre-pandemic) to 7.6 per 1,000 passengers in 2022, according to the aviation data company SITA’s annual insights report. That number was even higher for international flights in 2022 — 19.3 bags per 1,000 passengers.
FILE: Siblings Blake and Kelly Cormier wait as airport personnel look for a lost bag at Bush Intercontinental Airport.
Houston Chronicle via Getty ImagesAt least one influencer even claims that the tiny tracking devices are the most important thing you pack in your suitcase. Travelers can slip one of the small devices into their luggage and track it on their phone as it travels from the conveyor belt at check-in to the airplane.
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The tiny Apple product that rocked the world
When Apple announced the AirTag in 2021, it described the piece of tech as a “small and elegantly designed accessory that helps keep track of and find the items that matter most” by using the Find My app.
Tracking devices like Tile were already on the market to help people find commonly misplaced items. However, AirTags shook up the tech space as the coin-sized device connected directly to Find My on iPhones and other Apple products.
FILE: Two customers are shown AirTags by an Apple staff member at the Apple Store George Street in April 2021 in Sydney, Australia.
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Apple declined to comment on the product’s popularity as a device for air travel. However, the company has shown how it embraces travel by partnering with luxury brand Hermes to launch AirTag accessories that include a bag charm, key ring and luggage tag.
When the tech debuted, some people were concerned that bad actors would use it to follow people, instead of items, without permission. But Apple anticipated the concern and installed some safeguards.
A view of an Apple AirTag, as seen in San Francisco, Monday March 14, 2022.
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“IOS devices can also detect an AirTag that isn’t with its owner, and notify the user if an unknown AirTag is seen to be traveling with them from place to place over time. And even if users don’t have an iOS device, an AirTag separated from its owner for an extended period of time will play a sound when moved to draw attention to it,” the news release said. “If a user detects an unknown AirTag, they can tap it with their iPhone or NFC-capable device, and instructions will guide them to disable the unknown AirTag.”
SFO embraces Find My tech
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“The airlines are not fans of AirTags. I honestly think they wish they were banned because now when passengers know where their bags are, it messes with their operating standards and procedures,” Pierce told SFGATE.
Seattle resident Alisabeth Hayden experienced a different challenge when her AirPods disappeared from her jacket pocket after deplaning a United flight for a layover in SFO. She told SFGATE that she noticed they were missing after boarding her flight to Seattle.
FILE: The entrance to the San Francisco International Airport in 2009.
George Rose/Getty Images“At this point, I’m blaming myself, you know, I must not have buttoned up the jacket,” Hayden said. “And so I put them in Lost Mode, and I had internet the whole time while I was on the flight, and I’m spending the entire time trying to get a hold of somebody at the airport at United … and I’m taking screenshots so that I can explain.”
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She meticulously tracked her AirPods all the way from the airport to a residential area. After several emails and phone calls, a detective at SFO took her case and was able to track down the AirPods to a contracted worker.
“I had been dealing with a loss prevention specialist from United at that point because they were saying they were lost, and he was useless,” Hayden said. “He was so rude to me. He was so accusatory, like he was not going to even consider the fact that it could be an employee they entrusted on the airplane, which it ended up being.”
An AirTag attached to a backpack inside the Apple Store George Street in April 2021 in Sydney, Australia.
James D. Morgan/Getty ImagesUnited did not directly comment on the incident with Hayden but said it “[encourages] passengers to file a report with law enforcement if items within their baggage have gone missing. We are working to evolve our baggage tracking procedures as more customers are using tracking devices to follow real-time location updates on their baggage.”
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“When our officers contact a passenger, they gather all available information to support the investigation. This could include … the presence of tracking devices like an Apple Air Tag,” a spokesperson for the SFPD airport division told SFGATE in a statement. “Our officers recommend the use of these tracking devices, as they increase the ability for the items to be recovered, along with prosecution of the perpetrator(s).”
FILE: A sergeant with the San Francisco Police Department at SFO checks luggage in the ticketing area at the San Francisco International Airport in July 2007.
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“Bluetooth and luggage tracking devices can be used in checked baggage if they are powered by lithium metal cells that have 0.3 grams or less of lithium or do not exceed 2.7 Watt-hours,” a spokesperson for the FAA told SFGATE.
Tracking devices are helping travelers to find their luggage easier, but Pierce said she doesn’t believe airlines are rushing to take the technology seriously.
“I’m glad that they haven’t banned them,” she said, “but what would be great is if they developed their own technology so every bag tag had a chip or something that would help give real-time location versus their scanning method.”
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