AirTag again exposes lies told by airlines about lost luggage
A Canadian man recounts how only an AirTag got him his luggage back after United Airlines lost it and persisted in lying about where it was.

Sometimes AirTags have given us funny stories about lost luggage going on a better holiday than its owners. Sometimes it's a much darker stalking story.
But now, yet again, an AirTag has rescued luggage that wasn't where it should be and wasn't even where the airline insisted it was.
According to the Daily Hive, Canadian Winston Sih says that on August 14, 2023, his United Airlines flight from Chicago to Toronto was cancelled and he was diverted via Washington, DC. So was his luggage, but that's the last point where the airline got it right.
"I was told United would transfer my suitcase to the correct flight," Sih told the publication.

Screenshot and message by Winston Sih showing his luggage at the airport
It wasn't. On asking the airline why his luggage wasn't anywhere to be found at Toronto Pearson International Airport, United Airlines promised to deliver it to his home. But thanks to his AirTag, Sih could see that the luggage was at still at Washington Dulles.
No, no, said United Airlines when he pointed this out, the luggage is actually in Toronto. Eventually, UA did put the bag on a flight to Toronto, but "that's where it started to wrong," says Sih, because now there was also Air Canada involved.
Still, his luggage got to the airport -- where it then went around and around the baggage carousel at the airport until it was taken off "presumably by staff." It was taken off the carousel, but left in the baggage hall unattended for 24 hours.
No, no, said United Airlines: the luggage is still in Washington.
"But what I... told them was that my iPhone was telling me that my AirTag was showing [the luggage] live in Toronto," said Sih. "It would update every few minutes when it would ping off someone's phone."
Representatives from both United Airlines and Air Canada promised to attend to the luggage and get it to him as soon as possible. "Unfortunately," says Sih, "no one did."
He watched the AirTag saying his luggage was still right there at Toronto airport and after a day of that, he decided to go get it himself.
"I bounced back and forth between United Airlines and Air Canada staff," he says. "They don't have clear baggage offices after security/customs, which would be a good idea."
Eventually an Air Canada representative allowed him to be escorted into the secure luggage area. He used his iPhone 14 to track down the AirTag and recovered his luggage.
"It was like finding a needle in a haystack, but way easier with technology," he said. "I would say, AirTags are a must if you're travelling. I have them on my backpack, keys, and multiple suitcases."
This isn't the first time that airlines have been caught lying about where luggage is. Once someone's luggage was sent to a donation pile.
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Comments
Airlines do correctly deliver an enormous volume of luggage every day, and people forget what a logistical triumph that is. The problem is that, when presented proof that the system has failed in a specific instance, the typical airline response is that the customer is wrong. The airline here did lie that it knew where the bag was and when and how it would be returned. You're right that it wasn't lying in the usual criminal sense, but it was a known falsehood: A quick check by airline staff in the airports involved would have confirmed that.
None of this is to say that this sort of problem isn't immensely frustrating. Just that it may not be fair to say that the airline staff is lying when they use the internal information available to them for reporting where a customer's bag is.
If an airline worker merely checks a computer and reads inaccurate info to a customer who has accurate info in the form of an AirTag, that inaccurate info is in fact a lie, especially when the airline worker reading the inaccurate info doesn't lift a finger to re-confirm it!
Not a single person at the airline lifted even a pinky finger to confirm the accuracy of the information reported to the luggage owner until the luggage owner visited the airport in person. Only when the baggage owner visited the airport did airline people start to do what they ought to have done from the get-go -- take a short walk and look with their own eyes. "It's not my job" and sheer laziness resulted in this story becoming headline news.
"Easier said than done"??? Poppycock!
The top brass at these airlines should resign their positions for not managing their businesses better than this. Keeping planes in the air is on the same level of importance as keeping the property of passengers safe and in the possession of the passenger when not flying. The fact that more isn't being done to remedy a problem that has existed for DECADES is an absolute outrage, and the fact commenters are merely squabbling here about whether the use of the word "lies" is appropriate is also an outrage. The fact more people aren't outraged is precision why NOTHING EVER CHANGES. That too is an outrage.
It's because for-profit corporations refuse to self-manage that silly government often steps in with over-reaching regulation, and the end result tends to be bad for everyone. Corporations should just note the problems and take action so the government can keep its regulatory nose out of it.
We have all the technology required today to prevent this. Bags should be photographed automatically by the airline as they are checked in. Bags shouldn't just be paper-tagged by the airline, but also electronically tagged with tech similar to an Airbag so the airline can manage bags, not the customer. If paper and electronic tagging fail, you have a photo to fall back on, in addition to whatever extra info the baggage owner supplies. Stop making excuses why this is "easier said than done" and just do it!
Of course, it's more complicated than that. The "promises" made by middle-level managers to "definitely look into the matter" is generally a bunch of BS. You could say that they are lying.