Lufthansa and AirTags: ban on Apple devices in checked baggage lifted
Lufthansa and AirTags: ban on Apple devices in checked baggage lifted. In recent months, the airline [...]
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Lufthansa and AirTags: ban on Apple devices in checked baggage lifted. In recent months, the German airline has generated much confusion among passengers. In fact, it has prevented Apple AirTag holders from placing tracking devices in checked checked luggage for security reasons.
Even Lufthansa posted a Tweet stating that the regulator shared its opinion on the safety of tracking devices.
This has generated uproar and a great deal of ambiguity, so finally the situation has been clarified and we have come to a resolution: currently AirTags are not prohibited to be used in checked baggage taken on Lufthansa flights. Seventeen months after the launch of the small Apple devices, therefore, AirTags will be allowed in checked baggage. But let's go in order.
An example of good use of airtag: read our article!
Lufthansa's ban on AirTags.
Lufthansa was one of the few airlines to prevent the use of tracking devices on passengers' luggage. But since the German regulatory authority (LBA) gave the green light, the ban has lapsed.
In fact, LBA recently issued a directive that there was no safety risk whatsoever from AirTags, so Lufthansa finally relented.
What are Apple AirTags and where did Lufthansa's ban come from?
We had talked about it in this article, after the really crazy experience in London Terminal 3. But for those who didn't know or missed it, AirTags are small Apple devices that configured with iPhones, iPads or iPod touches, make it easy to track items relevant to their owners. For example, one's purse or backpack; wallet or house keys; and, of course, luggage.
German airline Lufthansa-probably misunderstanding an International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) regulation-was the only one that actually banned people from tracking their luggage with AirTag.
The justification for this ban was that, according to ICAO rules, both small CR2032 button batteries and Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) transmitters in Apple AirTags could fall under dangerous goods, thus incompatible for transport.
But in rebuttal to this measure came immediate comments from AppleInsider, which clarified the issue. First, the ICAO regulations cover accidentally activated lithium-ion batteries. But AirTag batteries are not lithium-ion, but are those usually used in watches, never banned by any air carrier.
The Federal Aviation Administration and the Transportation Security Administration have said on the matter that Bluetooth-based trackers are lawful in checked luggage. In addition, Apple told several news outlets that it disagreed with Lufthansa's interpretation.
In fact, although it is an implied discourse, it would be rather strange for a large company by revenue like Apple to design and produce an item that contravenes air travel regulations.
At the very least, an unintelligent move that would expose Lufthansa to serious economic losses. And in fact, one industry expert said instead that the ban was probably "a way to prevent Lufthansa from being embarrassed by lost luggage." But why this statement?
Lufthansa and delays in returning lost luggage to passengers
In short, there would seem to be more behind the German airline's corporate policy. For a long time, it was thought that Lufthansa used the security-related motivation as an excuse to prevent passengers from using AirTags. This, since many of them - although they have thanks to the Apple device successfully tracked down their lost luggage - have seen Lufthansa unable to track down and return their luggage to its owners expeditiously.
Normally, if carriers have ample resources in staff and funds, lost luggage should be returned in 48/72 hours, sometimes as little as 36 hours. But with Lufthansa severely short of resources and staff, returning any lost luggage to its owners in 2022 often took many weeks.
This is why so many travelers who used Lufthansa no longer checked in their luggage unless they had the AirTag tracking system.
Although the air carrier did not allow AirTags in checked baggage, Lufthansa has in fact never taken any measures to prevent people from introducing the devices to checked baggage. The only way to impose such a ban would be to do a detailed screening of each checked baggage in order to detect and remove the AirTag.
Obviously, a technically possible practice, but one that would be labor and technology intensive (which Lufthansa does not currently have) and would not justify the effort. Think of the time required to go through each piece of luggage (thousands and thousands per day) just to detect and exclude harmless AirTags.
Final Thoughts
In short, Lufthansa has generated a lot of confusion among the traveling public and passengers in recent months by justifying as a security measure a ban on AirTags, when in fact they are technically harmless, even if included in checked baggage.
The main issue is that the air carrier did not want pesky passengers pestering the baggage departments about the problem of lost luggage.
Let us hope that Lufthansa, after creating confusion over the small -- and harmless -- round object with Pindaric flights and circuitous steps, will be able to return to normalcy as a leading airline that can fully meet the needs of travelers.
We know how complex this period due to the pandemic has been and how huge the losses to companies like Lufthansa have been. However, it is not right to give wrong information to passengers, with the sole purpose of "getting rid" of people who, thanks to Apple's AirTags, successfully track down lost luggage, but who do not see the German airline returning lost bags as efficiently.
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