Getty Images
At Swiss, Bluetooth trackers such as AirTags are not allowed in luggage. What’s the deal with the ban?
Passengers often need nerves of steel. Cancellations and delays were particularly frequent this year. But it is really annoying when you arrive at the holiday destination, but not your own luggage.
In the past, you were completely at the mercy of the airlines. Because of course you couldn’t go looking for it yourself. With trackers in the luggage, the AirTags from Apple are particularly well-known, but it’s different.
AirTags work worldwide
AirTags emit a weak Bluetooth signal that can be picked up by any other nearby Apple device. This creates a huge network that makes it possible to locate an AirTag almost anywhere in the world.
With the «Where is?» app, you can then see on your smartphone where the supposedly lost piece of luggage is. Was it really left at the departure airport or is it just lying in the hall next to the baggage carousel?
AirTags are often embarrassing for airlines
The popularity of AirTags has given some airlines bad PR, with frustrated passengers posting screenshots on social media proving that claims about the whereabouts of their luggage are not true.
And so there was a certain skepticism about the motives when Lufthansa tweeted announcedthat “activated AirTags” are prohibited in checked baggage on their flights. The ban also applies to flights at the Lufthansa subsidiary Swiss, as confirmed by a spokesman for the airline blue News.
The airline justifies this with the safety guidelines of the ICAO, the International Civil Aviation Organization. AirTags are classified as personal electronic devices, are subject to dangerous goods regulations and must therefore be deactivated during the flight. The only way to disable an AirTag is to remove the battery, which of course renders the device mere paperweight.
Other airlines do not follow
Other airlines do not seem to share this interpretation of the ICAO rules, at least no airline outside the Lufthansa Group has announced a ban.
And at least the US aviation security authority TSA does not seem to have any problems with the AirTags. she communicated crystal clearthat the tracking devices are allowed in both carry-on and checked baggage.