Lufthansa has apparently banned carrying an AirTag in checked bags. In a series of posts on social networks, without an official statement, the airline prohibits carrying these tracking devices in the hold of the plane.
According to the company, the only thing they are doing is complying with aviation safety regulations regarding batteries and radio transmitters, but that doesn’t seem to be the real reason.
Rather, everything seems to indicate that AirTags are putting airlines in a special bind, exposing their shame with the luggage that appears and disappears, that is lost, or that does not arrive at its destination, being located in the wrong warehouse or at the destination airport itself.
Logically, users do not believe that it has to do with air regulation, and they have pressured the airline on social networks, which continues to insist that everything has to do with the safety of its flights. According to Lufthansa, the only reason they are banning AirTags is to comply with the regulation of dangerous goods on board:
“According to ICAO guidelines, baggage trackers are subject to dangerous goods regulations. Also, due to their transmitting function, trackers must be deactivated during the flight if they are in checked baggage and cannot be used. as a result of that.”
AirTags have exposed the embarrassments of airlines with our luggage
The main problem is that AirTags don’t really fall into that category. They are not, per se, dangerous goods. And the regulation the airline is referring to specifically targets lithium-ion batteries, such as those used in larger devices like a MacBook or small devices like e-cigarettes.
The AirTags do not use a large lithium-ion battery, but rather a 3V CR2032 type battery, which is too small to be considered a problem under the dangerous goods regulation.
AirTags do not use large lithium ion batteries
CR2032 batteries are not lithium ion batteries and as such are not covered by the regulation. If CR2032 cells were indeed a hazard, watches using the same CR2032 would not be allowed on flights.
Also, regarding their transmission capabilities, AirTags are low power transmitters, and there is not enough power to interfere with commercial aircraft systems. What’s more, even with airplane mode, many devices don’t turn off Bluetooth.
Lufthansa’s excuse is quite strange. In fact, in some of the most comprehensive regulations, such as the United States, the TSA allows trackers like AirTags to go in carry-on and checked baggage.
On the other hand, the FAA allows them as well, due to the limited effects of short-range Bluetooth transmissions on their potential interference with instruments.
Neither the TSA, nor the FAA nor the Berlin airport prohibit its use
In Germany, Lufthansa’s country, they don’t seem very concerned about this either. The German press, echoing the ban, asked those responsible for the Berlin airport, confirming that there is no such ban on AirTag flights:
“We do not have a ban on AirTags in checked baggage, nor are there any requirements for them. In this regard, AirTags are not removed from baggage.”
It seems that the only apparent reason Lufthansa wants to ban the AirTag after all is so that users remain unaware of what happens to their luggage. Because the excuse that “the system is down and I can’t locate your suitcase” doesn’t work since the AirTags are vigilant.