German carrier Lufthansa has banned passengers from keeping activated Apple AirTags in their check-in luggage, citing debatable International Civilian Aviation Organization (ICAO) guidelines.
Calling the device ‘dangerous’, the airline is denying its passengers to carry an activated AirTag aboard its flight through checked baggage. On Twitter, the airline said that “Lufthansa is banning activated AirTag from luggage as they are classified as dangerous and need to be turned off.”
Source: India Today
The airline further claimed that “According to International Civilian Aviation Organization (ICAO) guidelines, baggage trackers are subject to the dangerous goods regulations. Furthermore, due to their transmission function, the trackers must be deactivated during the flight if they are in checked baggage and cannot be used as a result.”
This decision is now being challenged by media reports that claim that the ICAO guidelines under which Lufthansa has banned AirTags are wrong, specifically, the regulation that Lufthansa is citing. Lufthansa is citing ICAO rules regarding lithium ion battery regulations, such as those in big devices like a MacBook Pro. In reality, Apple AirTags use a much smaller battery to be considered an issue under the guidelines.
Meanwhile, the AirTag uses CR2032 cells that aren’t lithium ion batteries and are not covered under the regulation. If CR2032 cells were in fact a danger, then watches using the same CR2032 would also be disallowed on flights.
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