The confusion surrounding whether or not a Lufthansa AirTags ban was in place has now been resolved, following statements by both Apple and the German aviation regulator. The airline, Apple, and regulator have all now clarified that AirTags do not pose a safety risk and are allowed in checked baggage.
The European Union Aviation Safety Agency also weighed-in – though not in a particularly helpful way – as did the FAA in the US …
Background
It’s unclear exactly how it began, but a rumor began circulating that AirTags in checked baggage were banned on Lufthansa flights. That led to some customers querying the issue on Twitter, and the airline seemingly confirming the ban.
In response to a customer question on Twitter, the German airline tweeted:
Lufthansa is banning activated AirTags from luggage as they are classified as dangerous and need to be turned off.
Once the issue got media attention, the airline further confused matters with a statement that it had that it had “not banned AirTags and there is no guideline or regulation by Lufthansa to ban airtags. There is a standing ICAO regulation on such devices, but this has nothing to do with Lufthansa or any other carrier.”
This left the impression that the airline itself had not banned them, but that the global body International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) had.
Lufthansa now says AirTags allowed
Apple responded to the controversy by stating that there was no regulatory barrier to the use of AirTags.
AirTags are compliant with international airline travel safety regulations for carry-on and checked baggage.
The airline now says that it has consulted the German regulator, and that AirTags are indeed allowed. The New York Times reports:
The German airline Lufthansa reversed itself on Wednesday, saying that Apple AirTags and other Bluetooth tracking devices would once again be allowed in checked baggage.
“The German Aviation Authorities (Luftfahrt-Bundesamt) confirmed today, that they share our risk assessment that tracking devices with very low battery and transmission power in checked luggage do not pose a safety risk,” the airline said. “With that these devices are allowed on Lufthansa flights.”
The European Union Aviation Safety Agency – which regulates aviation across the 27 EU countries, as well as Liechtenstein, Norway, Switzerland, and Iceland – then decided it had to say something too. Though what it said didn’t exactly help.
[The agency] said that its regulation did “not in itself ban or allow” the trackers, but that operators had the right to determine which devices were safe to use in flight.
Across the Atlantic, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and Transportation Security Administration (TSA) also confirmed that there was no issue with the use of AirTags on US flights.
We can now all continue placing AirTags in our checked bags. Not only does this help locate them in the event of an airline losing track of them, but also provides peace of mind as it is usually possible to confirm that they have made it to the plane when checking at the departure gate or on board the aircraft before departure.
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