Late last year, United Airlines announced that it was adding the ability to link an Apple AirTag to customer accounts to assist in recovering lost luggage. Now, more airlines have rolled out the ability to share your AirTag data with them. This week, Lufthansa Group and Virgin Atlantic announced they have turned on this functionality.
Lufthansa Group carriers, Lufthansa, SWISS, Austrian Airlines, Brussels Airlines and Eurowings, have integrated the Apple AirTag location feature into their baggage tracking. Customers can now use the new function to privately and securely share the location of their AirTag or Find My network accessory via their respective carrier’s baggage tracking function.
This is a major shift from Lufthansa, as the carrier briefly banned AirTags onboard its flights in 2022 before rolling that back due to customer backlash.
Virgin Atlantic is also rolling out this tracking functionality in an effort to locate lost luggage and reunite it with customers.
In order to share the location of your AirTag or other Find My network accessory with the airline, you can generate a link in the Find My app for the specific device that can be shared with your carrier.
In announcing these upgrades, Dieter Vranckx, Member of the Executive Board and Chief Commercial Officer of the Lufthansa Group, said:
“The use of Apple AirTag data is one example of many ways in which we are continuously developing the customer journey of all our Group airlines thanks to innovative digital services.”
Corneel Koster, Chief Customer and Operating Officer at Virgin Atlantic, said:
“We know many people already use AirTags or a Find My network accessory to keep updated on the location of their luggage. On the rare occasion, when operational issues or misconnecting flights may require bags to be located, our teams now have this shared source of information, so our customers have peace of mind on our progress.”
Mrs. ATX and I have AirTags in our luggage, backpacks, briefcases, and an assortment of other items. It always comes in handy when traveling, especially when a bag goes missing. This is even more true now that we’re traveling with ATX Jr. and have strollers, car seats, and other items to keep track of.
It is great to see more airlines adopt this functionality, which should make it easier to locate and return lost items, and I hope to see many more roll out this functionality in the near future.
Summary
Lufthansa Group airlines along with Virgin Atlantic have rolled out functionality allowing passengers to share AirTag or Find My device data in the event an item goes missing in transit. While I hope I never need to use this service, knowing the functionality exists gives me a little extra peace of mind.