Baggage loss during air travel is a major cause of concern among all the passengers across the globe. If we look at global statistics, post-Covid the situation almost tumbled out of proportions as mishandled luggage rate soared to 7.6 bags per 1,000 passengers in 2022, up from 4.35 in 2021 and 5.6 in 2019, according to the aviation data company SITA. 

To ease some of these baggage woes, Apple has introduced a new feature in iOS called ‘Share Item Location.’ This allows air travellers to securely share the whereabouts of their AirTag or compatible ‘Find My’ network accessory with third parties, including airlines, to assist in recovering misplaced items.

To start with, Apple has collaborated with 15 airline partners across North America, Australia, Asia, and Europe, with the list of participating airlines including Aer Lingus, Air Canada, Air New Zealand, Austrian Airlines, British Airways, Brussels Airlines, Delta Air Lines, Eurowings, Iberia, and KLM Royal Dutch Airlines, Lufthansa, Qantas, Singapore Airlines, Swiss International Air Lines, Turkish Airlines, United, Virgin Atlantic, and Vueling are expected to roll out the new tracking services in the next few months. Most airlines are expected to join this list.

 Let us walk you through the workings of this feature:

  • Generate a Share Item Location link in the Find My app on their iPhone, iPad, or Mac
  • Passengers will be able to view a website showing the exact location of the item on an interactive map
  • Website will automatically update as location changes
  • The website will show a timestamp of recent updates

Access to each link will be limited to a small number of people, and recipients will be required to authenticate in order to view the link through either their Apple Account or partner email address.

In a catch, the feature will be accessible to users having access to the beta version of the iOS 18.2 feature. But Apple has solved this issue too as it plans to roll out a public version of iOS 18.2 for all the users as a free software update for iPhone Xs.