It was a strange fate that Lufthansa, its customers, and its already damaged public image of the German airline, should feel so much fear and doubt over such a small thing as the Apple AirTag.
But they have been hurt because Lufthansa, apparently misinterpreting International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) rules, positioned itself this week as the only major airline to stop people from tracking their checked baggage using AirTags. On Saturday, a company spokesperson tweeted that it was “banning activated AirTags”after expressing concerns on Sunday that the tiny CR2032 coin cell batteries and Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) transmitters in Apple’s tracking devices could be considered “dangerous goods”.» in accordance with ICAO regulations.
Protests immediately followed, a careful reading of the relevant sections (Part 2, Section C) of the ICAO guidelines and accusations of ulterior motives. AppleInsider noted that the rules are for lithium-ion batteries that can be accidentally activated ; AirTag batteries are non-lithium-ion, have a case, and are commonly used in watches that are not banned by any airline. The site also spoke to “several international aviation experts”who did not see such a ban in ICAO rules. One expert told the site that the ban was “a way to save Lufthansa the embarrassment of losing luggage.”
The travel blog One Mile at a Time noted at the beginning of the story cycle that Lufthansa had “an awful summer when it comes to lost bags”. This included both his own blog story about lost luggage, and an AirTag tweet showing a bag that ended up in a completely different city from the traveler’s itinerary. Lufthansa was far from the only airline to face a recent baggage crisis, but it was the only firm that could be accused of trying to nullify the empirical evidence for this.
@lufthansa just traveled business class ATH-MUC-CDG with transit 2:30. Somehow you lost my bag?! Apparently your team can’t find it (I was told your system is down)! @Apple AirTag says it’s in Toulouse!! Can I return my bag before you ship it somewhere else? pic.twitter.com/QxwFooJDRl
Many people pointed out that Lufthansa sells Apple AirTags in their online World Shop. An Ars employee noted that Lufthansa previously sold a smart luggage tag, which specifically used RFID and BLE to program an e-ink display with flight information.
Apple told multiple outlets on Tuesday that it also disagreed with Lufthansa’s interpretation. It was left unsaid, but the implication was that the company, which is often the world’s largest by revenue, would take something like air travel regulations into account when designing portable devices to find your property. Notably, you can set a classic style suitcase covered with a sticker as an AirTag icon in the Find My app. In addition, AirTag was first released in April 2021, about 17 months ago.
Federal Aviation Administration and Transportation Security Administration officials said earlier this week that Bluetooth-based trackers are allowed in checked baggage. The European Union’s aviation safety agency said its rules “cannot by themselves prohibit or allow”the use of trackers, but airlines are free to define their own rules.
On Wednesday, Lufthansa dropped the undercover policy “German Aviation Authorities (Luftfahrtbundesamt)”, which the airline said in a tweet, “shared our risk assessment that tracking devices with very low battery and transmission power in checked baggage are not working.”pose a security risk.”This could either mean that Lufthansa acted in accordance with the ruling of this body, without mentioning it before, or that Lufthansa acted independently and now found a third party who approved their cancellation.
It’s hard to know exactly how to read it. A Lufthansa spokesperson told The New York Times that the company had no further comment beyond that statement. Since then, Twitter companies and other social networks have remained silent.
Lufthansa, having dragged this little round object through a harrowing landscape of misunderstandings and negative press, may now try to return to its existence as a mere global airline. But the journey, I hope, could change them.