Lufthansa bans Apple AirTag for luggage tracking, says ‘danger to flight’

Lufthansa, the national airline of Germany, has prohibited Apple’s AirTags from travel bags, citing a flight safety risk. But based on media reports, the rule the airline cites doesn’t actually permit this. The airline’s Twitter account was reportedly contacted to confirm the restriction following early claims in German media. Activated AirTags from bags are prohibited since they are deemed harmful and must be switched off, a tweet from Lufthansa.

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Baggage trackers must adhere to dangerous goods restrictions, said International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) regulations. Moreover, if the trackers are in checked luggage, they must be deactivated throughout the journey due to their transmission function and cannot be used as a result.

However, the investigation said that the airline’s assertion regarding ICAO regulations is wholly false. The law that Lufthansa is referring to in particular discusses restrictions on lithium-ion batteries, which are commonly used in larger devices like the MacBook Pro.

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The batteries used by the Apple AirTags and similar tracking devices are too small to be deemed problematic by the standards. Because CR2032 cells are not lithium-ion batteries and are not protected by the legislation, they are not used in AirTags.

The CR2032 cells were in fact used in wrist watches as well, and the report noted that using the same CR2032 would be prohibited on flights—even though it is not.

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