Air Tag trackers in airplane Hold luggage

MoneyMate

Please help sort out the confusion of small lithium batteries being used on aircraft suitcase cases used in any tracking devices , can these devices legally be used on flights to track your valuables and cases ?

silvercar

https://edition.cnn.com/cnn-underscored/travel/travel-apple-airtags

“Luggage tracking devices powered by lithium metal cells that have 0.3 grams or less of lithium can be used on checked baggage,” the FAA said in a statement. “Apple AirTags meet this threshold; other luggage tracking devices may not.”

eskbanker

silvercar said:

https://edition.cnn.com/cnn-underscored/travel/travel-apple-airtags

“Luggage tracking devices powered by lithium metal cells that have 0.3 grams or less of lithium can be used on checked baggage,” the FAA said in a statement. “Apple AirTags meet this threshold; other luggage tracking devices may not.”

That's the FAA's stance, but their jurisdiction doesn't extend beyond the USA, so it's the genuinely global bodies who need to reach consensus (and/or those covering UK/Europe) - this article from October 2022 suggested that the ICAO were shortly to make a decision, but confirmed information seems to be in short supply:

With new technology like AirTags - for which there are no specific regulations - regulators are playing catch up.

The potential safety risks of AirTags are minimal, the International Air Transport Association (IATA) tells Euronews Travel.

“Trackers contain very small lithium-ion batteries, and the Bluetooth emits a level of electromagnetic radiation that is below the threshold specified by the US Federal Aviation Authority (FAA) and the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) for safety concerns.”

“Industry consensus is building towards exempting Air Tags and other trackers provided that the lithium cell does not exceed a certain level and the tags only use Bluetooth,” IATA adds.

“IATA will request the immediate consideration of this by the ICAO Dangerous Goods Panel which will meet next month.”

With airlines like Lufthansa also after a “solution” on the devices, the rules look likely to loosen after November.

https://www.euronews.com/travel/2022/10/13/airtags-smart-bags-and-lithium-batteries-airlines-electronic-rules-explained

silvercar

eskbanker said:

silvercar said:

https://edition.cnn.com/cnn-underscored/travel/travel-apple-airtags

“Luggage tracking devices powered by lithium metal cells that have 0.3 grams or less of lithium can be used on checked baggage,” the FAA said in a statement. “Apple AirTags meet this threshold; other luggage tracking devices may not.”

That's the FAA's stance, but their jurisdiction doesn't extend beyond the USA, so it's the genuinely global bodies who need to reach consensus (and/or those covering UK/Europe) - this article from October 2022 suggested that the ICAO were shortly to make a decision, but confirmed information seems to be in short supply:

With new technology like AirTags - for which there are no specific regulations - regulators are playing catch up.

The potential safety risks of AirTags are minimal, the International Air Transport Association (IATA) tells Euronews Travel.

“Trackers contain very small lithium-ion batteries, and the Bluetooth emits a level of electromagnetic radiation that is below the threshold specified by the US Federal Aviation Authority (FAA) and the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) for safety concerns.”

“Industry consensus is building towards exempting Air Tags and other trackers provided that the lithium cell does not exceed a certain level and the tags only use Bluetooth,” IATA adds.

“IATA will request the immediate consideration of this by the ICAO Dangerous Goods Panel which will meet next month.”

With airlines like Lufthansa also after a “solution” on the devices, the rules look likely to loosen after November.

https://www.euronews.com/travel/2022/10/13/airtags-smart-bags-and-lithium-batteries-airlines-electronic-rules-explained

Looks like they have decided now.


https://www.icao.int/safety/DangerousGoods/AddendumCorrigendum to the Technical Instructions/Doc.9284.Addendum1.en.pdf

 ICAO have issued an addendum to the 64th edition of the Dangerous Good regulation. This permits personal electronic devices with lithium batteries less than 0.3g lithium content or lithium-ion batteries with a max rating of 2.7Wh to remain on in checked baggage.

eskbanker

silvercar said:

Looks like they have decided now.

https://www.icao.int/safety/DangerousGoods/AddendumCorrigendum to the Technical Instructions/Doc.9284.Addendum1.en.pdf

 ICAO have issued an addendum to the 64th edition of the Dangerous Good regulation. This permits personal electronic devices with lithium batteries less than 0.3g lithium content or lithium-ion batteries with a max rating of 2.7Wh to remain on in checked baggage.

Thanks - good find, I did have a brief look after seeing the reference to the ICAO Dangerous Goods Panel, but the web page about the meetings of the lithium batteries working group implied they hadn't met since 2014!

https://www.icao.int/safety/DangerousGoods/Pages/DGPWGOnLB.aspx

Grumpy_chap

FWIW - My brother recently travelled to Australia and his baggage was delayed.  He was able to know rough location of the luggage and eventual arrival to Melbourne before he was notified by the airline.  
Seemed effective in that case.
Shame there is no equivalent Android product.

eskbanker

Grumpy_chap said:

FWIW - My brother recently travelled to Australia and his baggage was delayed.  He was able to know rough location of the luggage and eventual arrival to Melbourne before he was notified by the airline.  
Seemed effective in that case.
Shame there is no equivalent Android product.

I see what you did there

[Deleted User]

Grumpy_chap said:

FWIW - My brother recently travelled to Australia and his baggage was delayed.  He was able to know rough location of the luggage and eventual arrival to Melbourne before he was notified by the airline.  
Seemed effective in that case.
Shame there is no equivalent Android product.

There are versions for Android. Google is rolling out support to most devices this year.

In the mean time you can get Android apps that let you trigger the speaker on AirTags. Endless amusement on a boring flight.

Penelopa.Pitstop

Grumpy_chap said:

FWIW - My brother recently travelled to Australia and his baggage was delayed.  He was able to know rough location of the luggage and eventual arrival to Melbourne before he was notified by the airline.  
Seemed effective in that case.
Shame there is no equivalent Android product.

Samsung tags. I had both: Apple and Samsung devices and they reported correctly during baggage delay in USA. However United app was as effective in letting me know that my bag arrived at the airport on later flight.