AirTag Tracking Expands to More Airlines

Apple released iOS 18.2 last December with a useful new update to the Find My feature using AirTags.

Users can now generate a secure link of a location of an AirTag or item on the Find My app and share it with third parties, like airlines. The Share Item Location feature works on devices running iOS 18.2, iPadOS 18.2 and macOS 15.2 and upwards.

The Find My app supports third party trackers such as, but not limited to Belkin, Chipolo, VanMoof, and eufy.

This week, Virgin Atlantic and the Lufthansa Group officially announced that the feature is live for passengers. United Airlines became the first airline to support the feature in December 2024.

Virgin Atlantic chief customer and operating officer, Corneel Koster says: “We know many people already use AirTags or a Find My network accessory to keep updated on the location of their luggage. On the rare occasion, when operational issues or misconnecting flights may require bags to be located, our teams now have this shared source of information, so our customers have peace of mind on our progress”.

The Lufthansa Group says it will integrate the location link information into their systems accordingly and can thus digitally support baggage tracking, for Lufthansa, Swiss, Austrian Airlines, Brussels Airlines and Eurowings.

Oliver Schmitt, head of the Lufthansa Group Digital Hangar says thanks to its app and website, passengers can now find solutions quickly and easily in the event of irregularities.

“In particular, we have been able to achieve significant improvements in the last few months in the area of baggage tracing. The integration of our customers’ AirTag data opens up additional possibilities for us to act even more efficiently and quickly.”

When the feature was announced in November 2024, there were 18 airlines listed as partners with Apple to support baggage tracking from customers:

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 International Air Lines, Turkish Airlines, United, Virgin Atlantic, and Vueling.

Interesting to note, while KLM Royal Dutch Airlines supports the feature, its partner Air France, from the Air France-KLM group, is not mentioned in the list.

Customers can share the links of their AirTags with an airline customer service agent.

Apple says Find My is built with privacy and safety in mind, so once the user is reunited with their item, the shared location will be disabled.

The owner can also stop sharing the location at any time, but the link generated for sharing expires after seven days.

Recharged reached out to FlySafair if they would implement the feature as part of its customer service. Kirby Gordon, chief marketing officer says: “We’re always interested in tagging and tracking solutions for luggage. We’ve reviewed a number of solutions but haven’t landed on one specific one just yet.”

A Lift spokesperson says: “Unfortunately we don’t have any plans to implement this application right now, but it’s definitely something we’ll keep an eye on for the future. We do however allow customers to check in their air tags to keep track of their baggage movement.”

New AirTag 2 in the works

The Apple AirTag was introduced in April 2021, and apart from software updates, the hardware has not been upgraded.

There are rumours circulating that a new AirTag 2 is expected to come out sometime this year, likely mid-2025.

Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman says the AirTag 2 is codenamed B589, and it has “progressed in manufacturing tests”, with three improvements: better range, a new ultra-wide band chip and heightened privacy.

It will reportedly have an improved tracking range from its new chip: up from the current 10-30m to between 30-90m away.

Tech Travel with a Toddler – Apple AirTag