I get that it's inconvenient and could be used nefariously. I'm not sure what kinds of worker protections airline staff have in Europe, but I can see why it might be problematic that I'm tracking the employee as they drive their van full of lost luggage to my hotel.
Still, it's my stuff, so I'm going to keep putting AirTags in every bag I travel with. I'm sorry, but.. what are they going to do? Ban me from the airline?
How are they even going to know if there is an airtag in someone's luggage? Are they particularly obvious on an x-ray or is there some kind of specialised detector?
It also sounds incredibly dumb when you think about how checked luggage gets scanned and searched. Isn't it typically after you've dropped it off with airline staff and have walked away towards a terminal gate? And when they find an airtag in checked luggage, how can they tell by looking at the airtag itself if "transmission function" has been turned off???
It seems to me they either have to throw away all airtags they find in luggage, or they have to check everyones' phones inside the airplane before they take off, or they're just bluffing.
Checked bags go through a CT scanner, carry on just goes through an Xray scanner. The CT scans are much more detailed, so the thought is that potential explosive devices are easier to detect in checked bags than ones carried on. At least, that's the reasoning I've heard.
Someone once suggested that if you are travelling by air and absolutely must have your checked bag arrived with you - put a starter's pistol in there (and fill out the appropriate paperwork).
The chances of that baggage being lost or misdirected is basically zero.
Perhaps there very little to gain. Airport security can ask you at any time to see the corresponding stub for your baggage tag. So you want to steal a bag, what are you risking it for? Some clothes?
I had a situation recently where someone accidentally took my bag thinking that it was theirs, and they eventually came back to baggage claim about 15 minutes later after they realized it.
If you think about it, there's a pretty serious security issue there. Someone could walk into an airport with a bomb in a bag, toss it on the baggage carousel while nobody is paying attention, and then walk out. It wouldn't get noticed by security looking for unattended baggage because it's expected for there to be unattended baggage there.
Like many other posters here, whenever we travel, I put AirTags in all our checked bags as well as hand carry (in case we lose them or they get stolen).
I also made my own sturdy luggage tags with a laminator that has our contact info on it. For each flight, I print a sticky label with the dates, airlines and flight numbers and attach it to the tag. Then, if the airline label ever gets ripped off, there is at least, some way to identify it.
So far so good even after 100 or so trips. My family chuckles about it when we’re packing but I think deep down, they understand it might one day save a trip.
We also have these reusable stretchy nylon covers for the checked baggage. As well as protecting the cases and making them easier to identify (neon colors), I’d like to think that makes opening them less attractive to airline baggage thieves than all the other ones but who knows.
I don't get what the rationale for this is. I heard one place that TSA is worried about devices with a bomb hidden inside, but if that bomb is in the cargo hold instead, it is still going to cause great damage.
Not allowing unintented bags is one step to prevent bombings. The answer to your question ("Who would check a bag to some city they're never going to?") is "someone who is trying to blow up the plane."
I mean it's aimed at makers, so it's expected that you'll use it for some sort of "interesting project" rather than take it out of your bag, program it to display your name, and use it instead of a sticker.
I've traveled with a lot of ham radio gear over the years, and sometimes the TSA wants to take a look. The worst case is that they swab it for explosive residue. Adds a minute to the transit time through the checkpoint, worst case.
Another reason is that it’s much easier for the TSA to screen checked bags than carry-ons, and airlines keep discouraging people from checking bags.
Why is it easier to screen checked bags? 90% of the time I fly, no one opens my checked bag (at least, there's no TSA card inside, and the TSA indicator on my lock doesn't show it was opened), so if they check it at all, they must use some kind of scanner -- can't they use that same scanner for carry-on bags?
If screening for banned items makes it too hard to screen carry-on bags, then maybe they could trim down the list of banned items to a more manageable level.
I know airport personnel are very sensitive to unclaimed bags, etc., so they may look with suspicion on a "that's not my bag" claim, though presumably the TSA has just verified that this item is "safe".
reply