(Pocket-lint) – German airline Lufthansa says AirTags can no longer be used to track lost luggage, citing safety reasons. However, I may be misunderstanding how they work.
In a series of tweets over the past few days, Lufthansa specifically said it would “ban activated air tags from luggage” because they are “classified as dangerous”. It kept saying I needed to turn it off. People have been trying to monitor their luggage with his AirTag gadget from Apple, but Lufthansa seems to have stopped the practice.
The tweet further suggests that the move is related to International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) guidelines.
According to ICAO guidelines, baggage trackers are subject to dangerous goods regulations. Additionally, due to the transmission feature, if the tracker is in checked baggage, it must be deactivated during the flight, resulting in unusability. / Ana
— Lufthansa (@lufthansa) October 9, 2022
However, Lufthansa’s interpretation of the rules may be problematic. As AppleInsider reports, the AirTag uses a simple CR2032 battery, not the high-capacity lithium-ion battery ICAO rules are designed to address. The report goes on to say that AirTags do have a low-power transmitter inside, but not powerful enough to pose a problem for the project.
AppleInsider says it has spoken to aviation experts about the ban, and goes so far as to say the move is just “a way to prevent Lufthansa from being embarrassed by lost luggage.”
Pocket-Lint has reached out to Lufthansa for comment and will update this report when it responds.
By Oliver Haslam. Edited by Rick Henderson.
