Lost luggage? Your AirTag could help United locate it

It’s infuriating when an airline loses your checked luggage, and even more so when you seem to know where it is better than they do. Putting a Bluetooth tracker in your checked baggage is becoming increasingly popular, so it stands to reason that air carriers should use this extra data to locate your worldly items. United Airlines has taken the first step on that front, allowing you to share your AirTag data with its team.

In its Thursday press release, United was quick to point out that “99% of customer bags flew with — or even beat — their owner to their destination.” In other cases, customers can now share the location of their AirTag or Find My accessory directly with United’s customer service team through the United app. This new feature uses Apple’s Share Item Location capability, available with iOS 18.2, to help passengers recover lost bags faster and more securely.

There’s still some admin involved in this new system. If a bag doesn’t arrive at its destination, travelers can file a delayed baggage report in the United app. Those using AirTags or other Find My accessories can then generate a Share Item Location link through the Find My app. This link, shared with United agents, displays the bag’s real-time location on a secure, interactive map, updating as new data becomes available.

Even with the paperwork, it’s still a significant upgrade. Traditionally, bag recovery relies on scanning luggage tags and tracing them through airports, which can be slow and inaccurate. By using AirTags and Apple’s vast Find My network, United agents get precise, live updates on a bag’s location, even in crowded environments. Many people will have attempted to volunteer this information to airlines in recent years, so a formal system to do so is an intuitive move.

Privacy is obviously a factor, so United makes clear that the shared location automatically expires after seven days, or it can be stopped by the user at any time. The airline emphasized that the feature is end-to-end encrypted, ensuring no one else — not even Apple — can view the shared data.

This integration is the latest in United’s push for smarter travel tools, from live flight updates on iPhone and Apple Watch to facial recognition for faster bag drops. We’d all prefer not to lose our luggage at all, but at least this is a step in the right direction.