Lost baggage might soon be less of a hassle for Canadian travellers thanks to a new collaboration with Apple.
In a news release Monday, Apple announced that a new iOS 18.2 feature, ‘Share Item Location,’ will help users locate and recover misplaced items by sharing the location of an AirTag or ‘Find My’ network accessory with third parties including airlines.
An Air Canada spokesperson confirmed in an email to CTVNews.ca Tuesday that the company is “collaborating with Apple to integrate their new Share Item Location feature into our baggage handling processes.”
“It will allow customers to securely share the location of their baggage containing AirTags directly with our baggage service team in the rare event their bags are delayed or misplaced,” the airline said.
In an email to CTVNews.ca Tuesday, WestJet said no changes have been made to its baggage policy regarding AirTags. However, if a traveller has an AirTag for a bag and is able to track its location, the airline encourages the traveller to provide that information to the baggage team.
Porter Airlines said in an email to CTVNews.ca that it does not plan on immediately implement this feature.
Apple’s news release said, “In the coming months, more than 15 airlines serving millions of people globally will begin accepting Find My item locations as part of their customer service process for locating mishandled or delayed bags.”
Airlines include British Airways, Delta Air Lines, KLM Royal Dutch Airlines, United and Virgin Atlantic, with more airlines added over time, Apple said.
Sunwing Airlines and Air Transat did not immediately respond to a request for comment from CTVNews.ca.
How it works
A user can generate a ‘Share Item Location’ link in the Find My app on their iPhone, iPad or Mac.
Recipients of the link will then be able to view a website that shows the location of the item on an interactive map.
The website will update automatically when a new location is available and show timestamps for recent updates.
According to Apple, the access link is limited to a small number of people, and recipients will be required to authenticate to view the link through their Apple account or partner email address. Apple confirmed that the entire process is end-to-end encrypted and anonymous.
A user can disable the shared location at any time and after the item is recovered, otherwise the feature will expire after seven days.
This new feature is available in most regions worldwide as part of the public beta of iOS 18.2 and will soon be available to all users as a free software update for iPhone Xs and later.