German airline Lufthansa today said that it will not be banning AirTags and other Bluetooth trackers from checked luggage. After receiving guidance from German Aviation Authorities, Lufthansa confirmed that AirTags do not pose a safety risk in luggage because of their low battery and transmission power.
The airline made headlines over the weekend after informing passengers that AirTags would need to be turned off in checked baggage because of guidelines imposed by the International Civil Aviation Organization. Lufthansa suggested AirTags were subject to the ICAO's dangerous goods regulation because of their transmission function, and that they needed to be "deactivated" during flight as a result.
The German Aviation Authorities (Luftfahrtbundesamt) confirmed today, that they share our risk assessment, that tracking devices with very low battery and transmission power in checked luggage do not pose a safety risk. With that these devices are allowed on Lufthansa flights. — Lufthansa News (@lufthansaNews) October 12, 2022
AirTags are not able to be turned off without taking the battery out of the device, so the only solution would be not to have an activated AirTag in checked luggage. Many Apple users have taken to including AirTags in their bags for tracking purposes, so Lufthansa's stance was a surprise to consumers.
Apple in a statement this week to The New York Times said that AirTags were not dangerous and were in fact "compliant with international airline travel safety regulations for carry-on and checked baggage."
The U.S. Transportation Security Administration also confirmed to The New York Times that AirTags are permitted in both carry-on and checked luggage, as are other Bluetooth-based trackers from companies like Tile.
