United Airlines Tells Passenger His Bag Didn’t Make It — But His AirTag Tells a Different Tale
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Two United Airlines passengers were told that one of their bags was missing, even though an AirTag secreted in the luggage indicated the bag was nearby, according to a Daily Mail report.
Dan Adams and his partner Kurt had embarked on a two-month-long European vacation, calling it “the vacation of a lifetime.” The pair even treated themselves to business-class seats on their United flight to Barcelona. The couple didn’t want anything to spoil the trip, so they placed an Apple AirTag in each of their bags to protect against losing their baggage.
Adams says that when he and Kurt arrived in Barcelona, they pulled out an iPhone to check on the locations of their four checked bags in the “Find My” app.
“We get to Barcelona. Get off the flight, go into the airport. And I get out my phone. And all four bags are there, so I’m like, “Yay, they made it,” Adams said.
After successfully collecting three of their bags, they waited for the fourth and final piece of luggage to make an appearance. Adams wasn’t initially concerned as the app showed the bag as being only feet away from them.
“I looked on the phone to see where it was, and it was only a few feet from where I was standing. I figured they probably forgot to put it on the belt that takes it up to the carousel l from down below. It’s probably just stuck there, and somebody forgot it,” he added.
When they asked a baggage representative to retrieve their final bag, they were told someone had likely stolen it or taken it by mistake.
“She came back and said, ‘No, there’s no sign of your bag. Probably somebody took it.’ I said, ‘Nobody took it. The AirTag shows it right there,”‘ he recalled.
However, the baggage duo said that the airline does not acknowledge AirTags as a way to find lost luggage and that they “go by their own system.”
Finally, exhausted and wanting to get some rest, the pair accepted the airline representative’s promise that the bag would be found and delivered to them that night and left to go to their lodgings. That turned out to be an unwise decision.
“We were tired, jet-lagged, and I said ok. And that was my mistake. I trust United when I shouldn’t have,” Adams said.
Their final bag was never delivered, and Adams was forced to watch on his iPhone as the AirTag inside the lost bag traveled around and out of Barcelona on its own.
Adams says he watched the AirTag travel into Barcelona and then continue to leave the city. In all, the bag traveled for 34 minutes.
“I knew at that point that I’d never see that bag again and all the stuff that was inside of it.”
Adams believes an airport worker hijacked the bag and says United Airlines did little to assist him in his time of need.
Although he filed a claim with the airline for his belongings, he says he wasn’t reimbursed for anything. “I’ve been a really good United customer for years and years. And they know that, yet they treated me this way.”
In a statement to DailyMail.com, United said, “Police in Barcelona are handling the investigation into this missing bag.”
The airline’s statement added that Adams was reimbursed for his “frustrating experience” and was offered a $200 travel credit.
“Even if you take precautions of putting an AirTag into your luggage to see where it is, there are elements out there that are going to make sure you don’t get your luggage, no matter what,” Adams said.
United noted that the airline will begin accepting Find My item locations as part of their process for locating mishandled or delayed bags.
As we recently reported, 15 major airlines are participating in the new Find My “Share Item Location” feature, which allows users to temporarily share their AirTag’s location. The feature is part of the iOS 18.2 update, which is currently in beta testing. Location sharing will be disabled once the passenger has their luggage. Links that do not get disabled will automatically expire after seven days (this was 14 days in earlier iOS 18.2 betas; Apple has since reduced it to seven).
Airlines that have already started participating include United Airlines, British Airways, Delta Airlines, Lufthansa, Qantas, and Virgin Atlantic.
The feature is only available with United in select airports, but the airline says it plans to introduce the service systemwide in early 2025.
