United Airlines and Air Canada Now Help Find Your Lost Luggage With an AirTag

United Airlines and Air Canada now support a new feature from Apple, called Share Item Location, which allows users to find their lost luggage with an AirTag.

Outside the US, many international airlines, such as Ireland’s Aer Lingus, now also officially support the tool.

Rolled out in November, the feature is available for users running iOS 18.2, iPadOS 18.2, and macOS 15.2. With the formal launch of iOS 18.2 expected in early December, Share Item Location will soon be available to all users with an iPhone Xs or later.

To use the tool, users must access the Share Item Location link in the Find My app. They can then link with customer service at one of the supported airlines, which will assist in locating their lost items using the link.

For those concerned about security, Apple has safeguards in place. The AirTag’s shared location is disabled once the user is reunited with their item, and it can also be stopped by the owner at any time. Additionally, the sharing feature automatically expires after seven days.

In its official announcement, Apple said nearly 20 airlines are preparing to integrate with the new feature. Although firm dates are not available for all of them, the list includes Air New Zealand, Austrian Airlines, British Airways, Brussels Airlines, Delta Air Lines, Eurowings, Iberia, KLM Royal Dutch Airlines, Lufthansa, Qantas, Singapore Airlines, Swiss International Air Lines, Turkish Airlines, Virgin Atlantic, and Vueling.

Losing luggage can be a distressing experience for anyone, but there are numerous examples of AirTags helping travelers recover their belongings. Last December, for instance, an AirTag helped a family from Miami recover their stolen luggage just before the holiday season, according to Queen City News. AirTags have even been used by law enforcement in Washington, D.C., where they were distributed to residents as a tool to locate stolen vehicles and reduce theft in neighborhoods.

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I’m a reporter covering weekend news. Before joining PCMag in 2024, I picked up bylines in BBC News, The Guardian, The Times of London, The Daily Beast, Vice, Slate, Fast Company, The Evening Standard, The i, TechRadar, and Decrypt Media.

I’ve been a PC gamer since you had to install games from multiple CD-ROMs by hand. As a reporter, I’m passionate about the intersection of tech and human lives. I’ve covered everything from crypto scandals to the art world, as well as conspiracy theories, UK politics, and Russia and foreign affairs.

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