Backage tracker for passenger baggage in air transport
Through an article by Christian Hensen in Stern Online published on 11. October 2022 we were made aware of a problem with Bluetooth trackers
It´s about small trinkets on passenger backage like e.g. the Apple Air Tags which allow locating your baggage via
Bluetooth.
The question that was posed is: Are those trackers allowed in passenger baggage or not? And the answer at this
moment in time is clear: NO.
The reason is:
In subsection 2.3 of the IATA Dangerous Goods Regulations for equipment containing small lithium cells or batteries
there is the following:
Source:
2.3.5.8 Portable Electronic Devices (PED) (Including Medical Devices) Containing Batteries and Spare Batteries
Under 2.3.5.8.1 at the very end it reads:
If devices are carried in checked baggage:
(a)…
(b) the device must be completely switched off (not in sleep or hibernation mode).
For equipment containing „large“ lithium cells or batteries there is the following
Source:
2.3.4.6 Lithium Battery-Powered Electronic Devices
(c) if devices are carried in checked baggage:
1. measures must be taken to protect the device from damage and to prevent unintentional activation;
2. the device must be completely switched off (not in sleep or hibernation mode).
We asked Dave Brennan from IATA regarding this. Here his answer:
“From a purely technical perspective any PED that is not completely turned off is forbidden in passenger checked
baggage. From a practical, safety perspective having a small device such as an AirTag powered by a button cell that
only has low power Bluetooth functionality that remains “on” in checked baggage poses almost zero safety or other
risk.
We are working with the FAA to develop a working paper for the ICAO DGP-WG meeting in Montreal in November
proposing that small baggage tracking devices, such as AirTags, be permitted in passenger baggage even when not
turned off.”
Until the decision of the ICAO DGP-WG and its implementation into the regulations the only way is to refrain from
carrying such trackers in passenger baggage.
