Stories in global media reporting that Lufthansa has banned the use of Apple AirTags in checked-in baggage have been refuted by the airline.
Boris Ogursky, Media Spokesman for Lufthansa Group, told Tourism Update that the regulation came not from the airline but from the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO).
Ogursky said baggage trackers belonged to the category of portable electronic devices and were therefore subject to the ICAO regulations for the carriage of dangerous goods on aircraft.
“Accordingly, due to their transmitting function, the trackers must be deactivated during the flight, similar to cellphones, laptops, tablets, etc. If they are inside checked-in baggage this cannot happen, and therefore they cannot be used,” said Ogursky
Yet, the New York Times reported last week that Apple claimed that regulators allowed the use of AirTags for all baggage, both hold and carry-on. Apple says AirTags are “compliant with international airline travel safety regulations for carry-on and checked baggage”.
Martin Leutke, another Lufthansa spokesman, told the NYT: “It is on the authorities to adapt regulations that right now limit the use of these devices in checked luggage.”
AirTags and other baggage-tracking devices became popular among Apple fans who felt the need to track their luggage when chaos struck airports in the Northern hemisphere as summer travel began and travel-starved people converged on airports that were inadequately staffed. Massive piles of baggage fetched up at those airports and some bags never found their way home.
