The German flag carrier Lufthansa has prohibited Apple’s AirTags from being carried in bags, citing a flight safety risk. According to media sources, the regulation the airline mentions doesn’t actually accomplish this.
AppleInsider claims that the airline’s Twitter account was requested to confirm the ban following first reports in German media.
In one tweet, Lufthansa wrote: “Banning activated AirTags from luggage as they are classified as dangerous and need to be turned off.”
When questioned more about the classification, the carrier responded, “in accordance with International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) criteria, luggage trackers are governed by the dangerous goods laws.”
Additionally, if the trackers are in checked luggage, they must be deactivated during the journey owing to their transmission function and cannot be used as a result.
However, the report stated that the airline’s assertion regarding ICAO regulations is wholly false.
The law that Lufthansa is referring to in particular discusses restrictions on lithium-ion batteries, which are utilised in larger gadgets like the MacBook Pro.
First off, an AirTag uses a battery that is too small to be deemed problematic by the standards.
Second, the regulation does not apply to the AirTag since it uses CR2032 cells, which are not lithium-ion batteries.
If CR2032 batteries were truly dangerous, watches that use them would not be permitted on aeroplanes, but they are.
