Author: John Smith
Major German airline Lufthansa has cleared the records about its policy about the Apple AirTags supposed “threat to flight safety.”
Lufthansa Reverses Course, Lifts Ban On AirTags On Checked Luggage
German flight operator – Lufthansa no longer prohibits its passengers from carrying Apple’s premium tracking device, which travelers now rely on to ensure the safety of their luggage.
The company, which said via Twitter that it was banning the AirTags due to the dangerous risk they pose to aircraft safety, is reversing its course on the matter and allowing line passengers to use AirTags in their baggage.
On Wednesday, the airline clarified its decision, citing that German national aviation powerhouses and authorities had reached the consensus that tracking devices with the size and transmission ability of an AirTag can’t compromise aircraft safety.
“The National (German) Aviation Authorities confirms, in respect of our risk assessment, that it has concluded that tracking devices with such low transmission and battery capabilities in passenger baggage aren’t a risk to aircraft safety,” the statement read.
“From now on, Lufthansa airlines approve the use of AirTags and similar devices from verified manufacturers on checked baggage,” Lufthansa said.
The reversal comes only a few days after the U.S Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) publicly challenged Lufthansa’s claims about the AirTags being an aircraft security threat.
“Baggage tracking devices using a lithium-metal battery that contains up to or below 0.3 grams of lithium can safely be carried in checked luggage,” the FAA said in a statement released last week. “While other manufacturers may not meet this threshold, we can and have already verified that Apple’s AirTags makes the minimum cut.”
AirTags, which conveys transmissions to other Apple devices through Bluetooth, uses a CR2032 battery commonly integrated into key fobs and wristwatches and contains only 0.1 grams of lithium metal.
Since Apple introduced AirTags to the market, people have used the mini-tracker to catch a moving truck driver in his lies, track over $16 000 worth of luggage in a stolen baggage haul, and find all sorts of missing things, including cars and car keys.
Lufthansa and the FAA’s list of dangerous carriage goods do not specify any regulations regarding luggage trackers. “Since Lufthansa isn’t a regulating authority, the company is in no position to translate international guidelines and how they believe we should interpret them,” said an ICAO (International Civil Aviation Organization) spokesperson.
“ICAO guidelines stipulate that batteries can be allowed into checked luggage, but only if they communicate on low-enough frequencies and contain a maximum amount of lithium-metal,” he said.
Conclusion
Lufthansa’s AirTags confusion, in some truth, is due to the sophisticated network of international authorities overseeing air carrier operations globally.
That includes the European Union’s version of the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), branded the (EASA) European Aviation Safety Agency. Last week, the EASA responded by saying its agency had not prohibited the use of AirTags, and Lufthansa’s regulations are a decision made by the independent company.