- Apple will soon let you securely share the location of your AirTags with airlines
- With multiple airlines joining the effort, we hope to help find lost luggage with AirTags faster.
- The “Share Item Location” feature will be launched with iOS 18.2 in 2024
If you’ve ever lost your luggage on an airline, Apple may have announced the best news yet—one I wish I’d heard months ago. With the iOS 18.2 update, scheduled for release in December 2024, Apple has introduced a major innovation for AirTags and FindMy that will surely be appreciated by many. Now, it’s possible to securely share an AirTag’s location not only with specific people, but also with companies.
The new Shared Object Locations feature lets you quickly and easily generate shared URLs that display AirTag locations, maps, and timestamps. Why is it so useful? If you’re used to putting AirTags in your luggage and then lose it, you can share the URL with an airline like United or Delta in hopes of getting your luggage recovered. The map displayed through the URL will be similar to the AirTag location in the FindMy app and can be accessed through the browser.
The “Share Item Location” feature is designed to allow you to share the location of your AirTags with trusted people or airlines, as Apple is working with many airlines to allow users to share this link if their luggage is lost. Participating airlines include United and Delta, as well as Aer Lingus, Air Canada, Air New Zealand, Austrian Airlines, British Airways, Brussels Airlines, Eurowings, Iberia, KLM, Lufthansa, Qantas Airlines, Singapore Airlines, Swiss International Air Lines, Lines, Turkish Airlines, Virgin Atlantic and Vueling as of this writing.
For those who have lost their luggage, it is undoubtedly more useful to have an airline that can effectively manage AirTags and their location. The goal is that AirTag’s status, combined with technology already available to airlines, could help reduce the number of lost bags, or at least speed up bag returns.
“We know that many of our customers already travel with AirTags in checked luggage, and this feature will soon make it easier for us to do so safely and securely,” said David Kinzelman, United’s chief customer officer. Share location information with us to help our customers We initially plan to accept Find My Stuff locations at select airports to first roll out the service system-wide in 2025.
Thankfully, United took the time to integrate Shared Item Locations and the data provided by the feature into its systems. When the service goes live in 2025, the company is likely to receive many requests. Delta Air Lines is also excited about the news and hopes it will help fill an existing gap.
In addition to individual airlines, SITA, which operates the global baggage tracking system WorldTracer, is also working hard to develop support for this feature. This is great news for baggage retrieval management, considering the system is already in use at more than 2,800 airports worldwide.
Analysis: Customer wins
One of the biggest frustrations I encounter when my luggage is lost is being able to see where the AirTags are located inside the luggage. However, this also means I know when the bag has moved, which is often in contrast to what the customer service rep tells me. I can’t share the AirTags’ location other than sending a screenshot; I have to communicate the message by talking to them or writing an email. I was frustrated when my message was at my fingertips and seeing my luggage moved the wrong way and the airline told me something completely different.
I don’t think this feature is coming any time soon, and while I recommend using AirTags in the hope that you’ll never have to use it to track lost luggage, at least the airlines will be better prepared to reunite you with your luggage faster. So, yes, if AirTags go back on sale for Black Friday 2024, I recommend buying one for every piece of luggage you own.
