Technology aims to reduce lost baggage delays

China Airlines check-in

Most frequent flyers have suffered from that sinking feeling at least once.

The baggage carousel comes to a halt and there is no sign of your suitcase.

You join other disappointed folk in a line to report the absence of your bag - and hope the airline gets it back to you sooner or later.

In my experience, that can range from a few hours (Virgin Australia) to over a week of frustration (Air Canada).

Now some airlines are trying to eliminate the problem.

Taiwan-based China Airlines (CAL), for instance, has implemented Apple’s new Share Item Location feature to help locate lost or delayed bags quicker, news portal Travel Mole reports.

This allows sharing the location of passengers’ AirTag or Find My network accessory with the airline’s customer service.

It is expected to speed up the recovery of lost or delayed baggage, the Asian Aviation website reported.

In order to share the baggage location with the airline, customers can generate a Share Item Location link in the Find My app on their iPhone, iPad, or Mac.

The link can be shared with CAL via a lost baggage form or with an agent at the service counter.

CAL integrates this information into existing systems to digitally support baggage tracking.

For customers’ privacy and security, location sharing will automatically end as soon as a customer is reunited with their bag and can be halted by the customer at any time.

Further digital technologies are now being harnessed at CAL to develop even smarter and more structured services, the airline says.