British Airways and Virgin Atlantic passengers receive ‘essential’ new iPhone tool so they never lose luggage again
APPLE is trying to make sure that you never lose your luggage again – as long as you keep an AirTag in your suitcase.
The tech giant has partnered with 18 airlines, including British Airways and Virgin Atlantic, so travellers can send the location links of their AirTags to their carriers.
The new Share Item Location feature is currently only available to beta-testers in the iOS 18.2 update.
But it is expected to be rolled out to iPhones worldwide in the coming weeks.
“Find My is an essential tool for users around the world to keep track of and find their belongings,” Eddy Cue, Apple’s senior vice president of its services division, said in a statement.
“The Find My network and AirTag have proven to be a powerful combination for users while traveling, providing invaluable location information when bags have been misplaced or mishandled.
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“With Share Item Location, we’re excited to give users a new way to easily share this information directly with third parties like airlines, all while protecting their privacy.”
Users can generate a Share Item Location link in the Find My app on their iPhone, iPad or Mac.
Recipients of the link, which now includes a long list of airlines, will be able to view a website that shows the exact location of the item on an interactive map.
The website will automatically update if the AirTag, and your lost luggage or item, moves.
It will even show a timestamp of the latest location.
If privacy is a concern, fear not.
Don’t risk ignoring four free iPhone tricks built to save your life
The shared location will be disabled as soon as you are reunited with your belongings.
Location sharing can also be stopped at any time, and will automatically expire after a week, according to Apple.
Apple has also worked with airlines to make sure these links are stored securely, and that access to each link is limited to a “small number” of people.
“By accepting Find My item locations, we’ll be able to offer additional peace of mind to customers who travel with AirTag in their luggage,” Annalisa Gigante, head of innovation at IAG, the parent company of British Airways, Iberia, Vueling, Aer Lingus, and LEVEL, said.
“We’re always testing innovative solutions and enhancing our systems to ensure that checked bags reach their intended destination as quickly as possible.
“We look forward to incorporating this solution into our lost baggage processes beginning later this year.”
According to Apple, “more airlines will be added over time”.
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Here’s the full list of airlines that are available now:
- Aer Lingus
- Air Canada
- 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
- United
- Virgin Atlantic
- Vueling
iPhone tricks to try today
Here are some of the best…
- Typing cursor – When typing, hold down the space bar to turn your keyboard into a trackpad, letting you move around words and sentences more easily
- Close all Safari tabs – To do this in one go, simply hold the overlapped squares in the bottom right-hand corner, and press close all tabs
- Delete lots of photos quickly – Hold down on a photo and then drag your finger diagonally in Photos to select lots of images at once, then hit delete
- Convert currency quickly – Swipe down from the top of your Home screen, then tap in the bar and type a currency (like €200) and it will automatically covert to your local currency
- Check if you’re due a battery upgrade – Batteries inside smartphones degrade over time. Just go to Settings > Battery > Battery Health, and check out the Maximum Capacity reading. Generally a battery is considered worn when you’re down to 80% capacity. If you’re below, you can buy a battery swap from Apple
- Move apps around faster – Hold an app until it starts wiggling, then (while still holding) tap other apps, causing them to stack so you can move them around easier