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Apple AirTags: What it's like to use a gadget to track suitcases on flights

2023-02-22T16:08:28.806Z


More and more travelers are putting Apple's AirTags in their luggage so they can be located if they get lost. I dared to try it myself - it wasn't without stress.


Maybe you feel the same way?

In any case, I was startled by a story last November in which my colleagues Timo Schober and Claus Hecking reported on the suitcase chaos in the so-called Terminal Tango.

It dealt with hundreds of unclaimed pieces of luggage that were stored in the former charter terminal at Hamburg Airport.

The lack of staff during the corona crisis obviously meant that many suitcases did not reach their destination with the travelers to whom they belonged.

That brought back memories: A few years ago, my Emirates luggage was lost on the way to the CES technology fair.

When I arrived in Las Vegas, I didn't even have a toothbrush in my hand luggage and had to change my clothes completely.

And now a trip to the CES was coming up again soon.

So I did what nerds do and got electronics to help me out.

On my next trip to Las Vegas, according to the plan, an AirTag from Apple should give me peace of mind.

With it in my suitcase, I should always be able to see where my luggage is, ideally near me.

Of course it happened the same way – and yet very differently.

Everything was fine when I left Hamburg.

With Apple's "Where is?" app, I could see that the suitcase was, as they say in Hamburg, "close to".

And also at London Heathrow, where I had to transfer to Las Vegas, Apple's finder gadget kept my blood pressure comfortably low.

However, only up to the moment when I was sitting in the plane and the cabin manager made the announcement: “Boarding completed”.

The sign that everything is on board and the machine can take off right away.

However, a quick glance at the iPhone at that moment showed me that my luggage was lying around almost four kilometers from the plane.

So much for my rest.

At least the plane didn't move and there were no seat belt signs.

But nothing else happened either.

Until finally the captain made an announcement.

Everything is actually ready for departure, only one cargo hatch is still open.

He didn't explain why, how and why, but a while later I realized the reason: obviously not all luggage had been brought to our gate, which was now made up for.

In any case, my AirTag started to move on my iPhone.

As soon as he reached my position, I heard the hum of the cargo door and off we went towards the North Atlantic.

phew

Enlarge image

Transfer on the return flight: The suitcase took longer than the passenger to get from the feeder flight to the international terminal

Photo: Matthias Kremp / DER SPIEGEL

Admittedly, the excitement was my own fault.

Maybe I shouldn't have kept checking the "Where is?" app to see if I can locate my suitcase.

Once you're on board, you can't run after your luggage anyway.

But it gets interesting after landing.

Because if a suitcase is actually missing, AirTags can help to track it down again.

There are various examples of this.

For example, that of a Canadian couple who reported a missing suitcase to Air Canada after returning from their honeymoon – and hoped for a replacement.

To his amazement, however, Apple's "Where Is?" located an AirTag hidden in the suitcase in a warehouse outside of Toronto.

The newlyweds eventually gained access with the help of the police, but they only got their suitcase back 48 hours later because it couldn't be found so quickly among the around 1,200 other pieces of luggage that were stacked there.

In another case, a passenger named John Lewis took to Twitter after forgetting his wallet on an American Airlines plane.

According to Lewis, the airline was unable to locate his belongings on said plane.

However, Lewis located the AirTag he had hidden in his wallet and, from his account, was able to follow his belongings being flown to 35 different US cities.

Unfortunately, none of this helped him in the end: his AirTag was found between the seat cushions, but his wallet was missing.

Someone must have known how AirTags work.

My personal tip: If you put an AirTag in your suitcase, only check where it is once you have arrived at your destination.

If it's arrived with you, which I'm hoping, you can use that to give you a rough estimate of when the suitcase will go down the baggage carousel.

And if not, at least you're the first to go to the Lost & Found desk.

Our current Netzwelt reading tips for SPIEGEL.de

  • »Traffic light on red – no pasta!

    « (nine minutes reading time)


    A number of apps promise to be able to help you lose weight.

    Jörg Breithut explains why this can work and what you should pay attention to.

    He also introduces four popular weight loss apps.

  • »How Cambridge Analytica and Team Jorge got involved in the election campaign in Nigeria« (13 minutes read)


    For months, my colleagues associated with Team Jorge have been researching digital mercenaries who, in exchange for lavish cash payments, help manipulate votes around the world.

    In this article you explain the troupe's cooperation with the British scandal company Cambridge Analytica.

  • "The strengths and weaknesses of Sony's new gaming glasses" (ten minutes of reading)


    The new virtual reality headset for Sony's Playstation 5 costs more than the game console itself. My colleague Markus Böhm used it to delve deep into three-dimensional game worlds and tried out whether the investment worthwhile.

External links: Three tips from other media

  • "New research suggests that privacy in the metaverse might be impossible" (six minutes of reading)


    Quite contrary to the trend, Sony's new VR glasses have nothing to do with the legendary metaverse.

    Maybe that's for the best, because as »Venture Beat« reports, a study by the University of Berkeley suggests that it will be difficult to create privacy there.

  • "War games against EU sanctions" (ten minutes of reading)


    The research network Correctiv and the daily newspaper "taz" are tracking Russian propaganda videos to a server in Frankfurt.

    When they want to report the possible violation of sanctions, they realize: Nobody is really responsible.

  • »Beauty in the Aftermath« (five minute read)


    Images determine how we perceive news and the world.

    The »New York Times« provides an almost cultural-historical outline of a picture that has just been made: the recovery of the Chinese spy balloon.

Enjoy what's left of winter,


Matthias Kremp

Source: spiegel

All tech articles on 2023-02-22

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