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Lufthansa bans AirTags in checked luggage

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Re: Lufthansa bans AirTags in checked luggage

#71

Post by twelvechairs »

FredPret wrote: post #39
aliqot wrote: post #35

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I do see how they'd find it bothersome. Imagine what it must be like that the situation before was: "Oh no my baggage is lost!" "Oooh that's rough! We'll let ya know!" then nothing. Where now what it might be like is: "Oh no my baggage is lost at XYZ airport at your terminal" and that accountability is somewhat forced now because they can't just say it wasn't found or it is 'in transit' when it really isn't.

So inconvenient for them to do what they were contracted to do: fly you and your luggage from A to B. Can’t they just get free money?

Every job, every person, every industry mistakes happen. You can minimise them with better systems but its never going to disappear

Re: Lufthansa bans AirTags in checked luggage

#72

Post by null0pointer »

Airtags are great for tracking luggage. Last time I travelled I put one in both of my checked bags and was able to track them as they moved around the airport and onto the plane. My phone in the passenger cabin was even able to receive pings from them during the flight when the bags were in the cargo hold. I have had my luggage lost before and Airtags give me great peace of mind that my luggage is headed to the destination and that if my bags do get lost I can hopefully help direct the airline staff to exactly where they are. I’ve never flown Lufthansa but this ban wouldn’t stop me anyway. The benefit is too great.

Re: Lufthansa bans AirTags in checked luggage

#73

Post by svnpenn »

rconti wrote: post #58
dghlsakjg wrote: post #20

The cat is out of the bag. There is no way that people are going to stop putting AirTags in their luggage, at least not while airlines are still constantly losing luggage and fighting people on reimbursement.

I get that it's inconvenient and could be used nefariously. I'm not sure what kinds of worker protections airline staff have in Europe, but I can see why it might be problematic that I'm tracking the employee as they drive their van full of lost luggage to my hotel. Still, it's my stuff, so I'm going to keep putting AirTags in every bag I travel with. I'm sorry, but.. what are they going to do? Ban me from the airlin…

No post body was provided.

Re: Lufthansa bans AirTags in checked luggage

#74

Post by yamtaddle »

twelvechairs wrote: post #71
FredPret wrote: post #39

Earlier quoted context omitted.

So inconvenient for them to do what they were contracted to do: fly you and your luggage from A to B. Can’t they just get free money?

Every job, every person, every industry mistakes happen. You can minimise them with better systems but its never going to disappear

The ones that don't suck are happy if you can help them fix their error, though.

Re: Lufthansa bans AirTags in checked luggage

#75

Post by landr0id »

keyle wrote: post #69

Isn't it a case of false information? I thought the tags communicated with nearby Bluetooth devices that have gps, which there should be none active nearby lost luggage... so people would scream that their luggage is somewhere around while the location is in fact outdated?

Yes, they communicate with nearby Apple devices which have opted in to being part of the AirTag discovery network.

Re: Lufthansa bans AirTags in checked luggage

#76

Post by nostrademons »

Note that the reason for airport mode is a courtesy to cell-phone carriers. It's not any air safety issue. Rather, 300-500 cell phones all trying to contact the next cell tower, multiple times per minute, would wreak havoc on cell service.

https://www.inverse.com/article/51015-cell-phone-use-on-airp...

At one point, when both cell phones and laptops were new, there was perhaps a risk to the airplane's electronics. Modern cell phones have been steadily tuned to reduce interference with other electronics though - good thing, otherwise you couldn't use them in a modern home with its dozens of connected devices. And modern avionics have been shielded to protect them from outside electronic interference - also a good thing, otherwise the next terrorist could simply turn their laptop on. The ban on electronic transmission is one of those regulations that was a response to technology at a particular point in time but now is largely vestigial. You can tell because it's rarely enforced, and yet bad things do not occur just because you forgot to turn your phone to airplane mode.

Re: Lufthansa bans AirTags in checked luggage

#77

Post by [deleted] »

runjake wrote: post #25

For all the people commenting "How would they know?", AirTags are scannable by NFC readers and identify themselves as an AirTag. You can test this yourself by downloading the NFC Tools app on your iPhone (or one for Android) and doing a read on the AirTag. https://apps.apple.com/us/app/nfc-tools/id1252962749

[deleted]

Re: Lufthansa bans AirTags in checked luggage

#78

Post by savoytruffle »

Tomdarkness wrote: post #10

How are they even going to know if there is an airtag in someone's luggage? Are they particularly obvious on an x-ray or is there some kind of specialised detector?

It's an interesting question. Maybe it's just scare tactics. The battery that goes in an AirTag is the same as in a lot of wristwatches and I expect it would look like a wristwatch via x-ray. And it is exactly as dangerous as such a thing, which it to say: not.

Re: Lufthansa bans AirTags in checked luggage

#80

Post by ceejayoz »

runjake wrote: post #38
robg wrote: post #4

Good luck enforcing this ban. How would they? Open up suspect bags and tear them apart looking for a device the size of a quarter?

AirTags are scannable as an NFC and they identify themselves as AirTag.

NFC range is so low you’d have to scan the exact right spot in the bag. Good luck.
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