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Lufthansa has not banned AirTags

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Re: Lufthansa has not banned AirTags

#61
post #35

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That is patently false. Keyless car fobs are constantly transmitting and it is possible to shut them down for long term storage with a key combination that almost nobody ever uses or even knows about.

If you're going to use language like "patently false" it helps to be correct. Keyless car fobs are not constantly transmitting. If they were, the battery would die quite quick. The key combinations to disable them help to prevent relay attacks, not because they just constantly transmit.

[deleted]

Re: Lufthansa has not banned AirTags

#62
OT, kinda. My eldest kid is in the final year of UK junior school so finally cut lose to walk to and from school as is culturally acceptable here.. I gave her a phone so she could let us (mum/dad) know she was on her way home from school, deciding to go home to a friends etc.. the school caught wind and apparently it was against school policy so she was disciplined (along with a number of her peers) - the extent of which was limited when I and her mother (and her peers parents) told them we had given them the option irregardless of the school policy.

The school response was to put an air tag on her!... I gave her a phone because they can't take change (money) to school which could be used for a payphone; but they don't exist any more, barely anyway.. fuck air tags, I don't care about property I care about people and air tags are as abusive bit of tech as it gets, how is a kid supposed to grow up knowing they are being tracked 24/7.. my example is nothing compared to what happens to people with abusive partners.. this kinda tech can not be normalised.

Re: Lufthansa has not banned AirTags

#63

Earlier quoted context omitted.

As far as I understand there is nothing new. Lithium batteries have always been allowed in checked luggage only if they are inside a completely powered off and reasonably protected device, to avoid the risk of fires. This risk doesn't really apply to such small batteries, but the rules are there regardless of the size of the battery.

Which is why this isn't about the battery fires. It's about the RF of hundreds of devices.

So why is it fine for literally every single passanger to have bluetooth headphones on during the duration of the flight, but somehow trackers are bad?

Re: Lufthansa has not banned AirTags

#64
post #62

OT, kinda. My eldest kid is in the final year of UK junior school so finally cut lose to walk to and from school as is culturally acceptable here.. I gave her a phone so she could let us (mum/dad) know she was on her way home from school, deciding to go home to a friends etc.. the school caught wind and apparently it was against school policy so she was disciplined (along with a number of her peers) - the extent of w…

> irregardless

Sorry to nitpick, but you can just say regardless.

Re: Lufthansa has not banned AirTags

#65
post #7

Except they have. A Lufthansa spokesperson has clarified the new rules for the German news site watson: https://www.watson.de/leben/urlaub%20&%20freizeit/879935671-... It rougly translate to: The device itself is not banned, but has to be shut off during flight. In practice this would mean that you would have to remove the battery from the airtag, since there is no powerswitch. But I will admit that this seems odd an…

I don't get your comment. You say they banned them, then immediately explain that they're not banned, you just have to turn them off - just like every single electronic device in checked in luggage. Can you elaborate on this contradiction?

Re: Lufthansa has not banned AirTags

#66

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Which is why this isn't about the battery fires. It's about the RF of hundreds of devices.

So why is it fine for literally every single passanger to have bluetooth headphones on during the duration of the flight, but somehow trackers are bad?

1) It's not. They ask people to switch off all transmitters during flights (and later to during takeoff and landing) because of RF emissions. 2) Because you can't turn trackers off, especially when they're in the hold.

Read the initial article that started all this, it even says that reason is because of transmissions.

Re: Lufthansa has not banned AirTags

#67

What am I missing? Comments all seem to be based on a false assumption. Nowhere in the article does it mention battery fires as the reason, or even the word battery/batteries. The original article ( https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=33127459 ) doesn't mention batteries either, but it would make sense only to effectively put them in airplane mode. Hundreds of tags transmitting is bad for the same reason that phone'…

The original statement from Lufthansa mentioned that Airtags fall under the category of "Dangerous Goods". "Dangerous Goods" is a term used by the ICAO to refer to batteries or items with batteries (also refers to dangerous chemicals or radioactive material, but if you look at ICAO guidance about Dangerous Goods, the bulk of the guidance is about batteries).

> Hundreds of tags transmitting is bad for the same reason that phone's have to be shut off during flights.

Phones don't have to be shut off during flights. That hasn't been a thing for years.

Any given commercial flight has hundreds of phones, wireless headphones, tablets, smartwatches, etc all transmitting radio signals at significantly higher power than Airtags.

Re: Lufthansa has not banned AirTags

#68
post #64
post #62

OT, kinda. My eldest kid is in the final year of UK junior school so finally cut lose to walk to and from school as is culturally acceptable here.. I gave her a phone so she could let us (mum/dad) know she was on her way home from school, deciding to go home to a friends etc.. the school caught wind and apparently it was against school policy so she was disciplined (along with a number of her peers) - the extent of w…

> irregardless Sorry to nitpick, but you can just say regardless.

Thanks, really! I appreciate it.. makes for a far better rant when the spelling/grammar is on point.

Re: Lufthansa has not banned AirTags

#69
post #62

OT, kinda. My eldest kid is in the final year of UK junior school so finally cut lose to walk to and from school as is culturally acceptable here.. I gave her a phone so she could let us (mum/dad) know she was on her way home from school, deciding to go home to a friends etc.. the school caught wind and apparently it was against school policy so she was disciplined (along with a number of her peers) - the extent of w…

Sorry, what? Phones are tracked too. Maybe your solution is a watch, but still kinda expensive.

Lost my 2yo a couple of times and each time thinking to resurrect an airtag that currently tracks junk drawer. Feel wrong and I don’t think it would work on someone who changes clothes 5 times a day.

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