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Apple’s AirTags have helped people track down missing items (including luggage that has been stolen or lost) since they were introduced in April 2021. Now, the little tracking discs are about to become even more beneficial when they begin sharing their location with more than 15 airlines.
A new iOS feature will help users locate and recover their items by securely sharing the location of an AirTag or Find My network accessory with airlines. Share Item Location is available now as part of the public beta of iOS 18.2, which will soon be available to all users as a free software update (on iPhone X or later models).
Eddy Cue, Apple’s Senior Vice President of Services, said:
Find My is an essential tool for users around the world to keep track of and find their belongings. The Find My network and AirTag have proven to be a powerful combination for users while traveling, providing invaluable location information when bags have been misplaced or mishandled. With Share Item Location, we’re excited to give users a new way to easily share this information directly with third parties like airlines, all while protecting their privacy.”
Over the next few months, more than 15 airlines will connect with Find My item. These include:
- Aer Lingus
- Air Canada
- Air New Zealand
- Austrian Airlines
- British Airways
- Brussels Airlines
- Delta Air Lines
- Eurowings
- Iberia
- KLM Royal Dutch Airlines
- Lufthansa
- Qantas
- Singapore Airlines
- SWISS
- Turkish Airlines
- United Airlines
- Virgin Atlantic
- Vueling
Apple has worked with partner airlines to put systems in place to privately and securely accept Share Item Location, leveraging the hundreds of thousands of Apple devices many airlines are already using. Access to each link will be limited to assigned people with recipients needing to authenticate in order to view the item’s location.
Anthony’s Take: This is a cool development for Apple’s AirTag and will practically eliminate lost baggage for those using them. It’s great to see Apple sign on so many airlines and I’m sure others will quickly join.
(Image Credits: Apple.)
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Advertiser & Editorial Disclosure: The Bulkhead Seat earns an affiliate commission for anyone approved through the links above This compensation may impact how and where links appear on this site. We work to provide the best publicly available offers to our readers. We frequently update them, but this site does not include all available offers. Opinions, reviews, analyses & recommendations are the author’s alone, and have not been reviewed, endorsed, or approved by any of these entities.
1 comment
A smart airline would install bluetooth mesh networks into their baggage areas to improve on this idea.