Flight passengers in Latin America can now share AirTags for live luggage tracking
This small change could save travelers days of waiting and uncertainty.
For years, lost luggage has been one of travel’s universal headaches, the kind that can turn a holiday into a scavenger hunt. Now LATAM Airlines, Latin America’s largest carrier, is taking a different approach by letting passengers share their bag’s real-time location directly with the people who can get it back.
The new feature hinges on Apple’s AirTag and its “Share Item Location” tool, tucked inside the Find My app. Instead of waiting for airline systems to scan a wayward bag back into existence, passengers can now generate a temporary, encrypted link from their devices that airline staff can use to see exactly where the bag is, whether it’s still at the departure airport or halfway across the continent. The link expires after a week or once the bag is recovered, limiting the privacy trade-off.
It’s a simple change in tech, but it puts a lot more control back in your hands. For decades, baggage tracking has relied on barcodes and routing systems that break down the moment a bag leaves the conveyor belt. The International Air Transport Association estimates 33 million bags are mishandled globally each year. LATAM says it already runs about 50% better than that average, but with over 40 million bags handled annually, even a 1% improvement means thousands fewer headaches.
Emmanuel Oyedeji
The logic behind this technology is universal, and it’s already gaining widespread adoption. More than 30 airlines, from United to Singapore Airlines, now support AirTag location sharing, with Saudi Airlines joining just last month. If passengers already carry tracking tech, why not use it?
Still, there’s a catch: scalability. AirTag tracking works only for Apple users, and while iPhone adoption in Latin America is growing, it still hovers around 13–20% of the smartphone market in major economies like Brazil and Chile, according to StatCounter. That means the majority of LATAM’s passengers can’t yet use the system, limiting its reach. By integrating more inclusive support for additional tracking tags from brands like Tile, Chipolo, and Samsung that are compatible with Android's "Find My Device" network, airlines can extend this service to a much wider portion of their passenger base.
For airlines, it’s a relatively low-cost upgrade compared to rebuilding baggage-handling infrastructure. United says it’s seen a 15% boost in recovery rates since adopting the feature. If LATAM sees anything close to that, the payoff is clear, even if it only applies to a slice of its customer base.
Maybe the real shift here isn’t just that your bag is easier to find. It’s that, for once, the airline might know where it is before you start imagining it on a beach without you.
Loy Okezie
