AirTags catch United Airlines in lie about missing luggage

Valerie Szybala has taken to Twitter to document how United Airlines lost her luggage, then proceeded to insist she was wrong about where her AirTag said it was.

Later in the thread, Szybala explains why she was compelled began tweeting about her situation. In a posted copy of her messages with United Airlines support, she was told to "calm down," and "we will deliver the bag to you, don't worry."

However, that conversation took place after Szybala had used her AirTags to track the luggage to a dumpster behind a residential apartment. Photographs, perhaps from Google Street View, show other United Airlines luggage strewn by the dumpster and apparently emptied.

In her messages conversation, she repeatedly informs customer support that she has found the location of the luggage because of her AirTags. When support finally acknowledges this, they still repeat that she is wrong, the "bag is safe at the Delivery services distribution center."

Szybala also reports that once she "pressed them to send me the details of their lost/stolen bag policy," the support rep stopped responding.

At some point after this, though, Szybala's AirTag showed that the baggage was on the move and was seemingly now at a McDonalds. Shortly afterwards, she reports that it left McDonalds — and returned to the apartment with the dumpster.

United Airlines has not commented publicly beyond an initial Twitter support message asking for details.

This is not the first time that AirTags have revealed unexpected journeys of the luggage they are placed in. In June 2022, one man tracked down his missing baggage to an office in Melbourne Airport. Then in August 2022, a couple visiting Portugal reported that their luggage got to see more of the country than they did.

Also in late 2022, Lufthansa briefly banned AirTags on a hopefully mistaken interpretation of FCC regulations regarding batteries. It then reversed the decision.