As Canadian airports report a growing number of lost or missing baggage claims, one traveler took it upon herself to address the issue and track down her missing baggage for 5 days from Toronto to St. John, NB using Apple’s AirTag tracker.
Kelly Liang is a frequent flyer, with work regularly bringing her to Toronto from her home in Saint John. After hearing about recent flight delays and cancellations, she decided to put one of Apple’s Bluetooth-based tracking devices in her suitcase for her flight and document her experience on TikTok, attracting tens of thousands of views.
She told CTVNews.ca in an interview on Thursday: “(The AirTag) was originally given to me as a present for Christmas because as an avid golfer I carry everything in my pack. bags and golf clubs worth thousands of dollars.
“I decided to put this pass in my normal luggage for my own peace of mind and I am lucky that my luggage didn’t get on the one and a half hour direct flight from Toronto to Saint John.”
When Liang arrived at Saint John at the end of June, her luggage had not yet arrived and could not be found at Saint John’s airport. She then tracked her luggage for 5 days on her iPhone.
According to her, AirTag showed her bag had not left Toronto’s Pearson airport for four days before it was flown to Moncton, NB on Thursday and then flown to Saint John’s airport.
“So if I didn’t have a pass, I would just go to the airport every day and eavesdrop on the staff, like ‘did my bag arrive?’ That will be my next step,” she said.
Despite the five-day delay, Liang considers herself lucky because she is a local at Saint John and is able to replenish her items with things she already owns at home.
Liang said she was left without some essentials such as contact lenses, toiletries and clothes, and did not know when or if she would get them back.
“I was just lucky that I flew into my house because I clearly had clothes and other items at home….
Liang went to Saint John’s airport to collect her luggage, five days later, before receiving a notification from the airline that her bag had arrived.
“I received very little communication from Air Canada during this experience and I filed a claim a week ago, but received no response.”
The Greater Toronto Airport Authority attributed the baggage chaos to flight delays, cancellations, staff shortages and temporary mechanical disruptions in the baggage system. They said a baggage service recall task force has now been deployed to check and resolve the system failures.
Jennifer Weatherhead, founder of travelandstyle.ca, told CTVNews.ca: “Everybody watched those videos – I watched and experienced them – with huge piles of luggage at different airports. in a phone interview on Tuesday.
“I think right now (the tracker) is a wise choice, especially flying over one of the main hubs that have connecting flights,” she said.
Popular Bluetooth-based trackers include Apple’s AirTag, Samsung’s SmartTag, and Tile, which work through a mobile app to help locate the item being tracked.
All three work through an existing network of Bluetooth devices, acting as community-resourced rays pinging each other when in the same vicinity to determine the item’s location.
For example, Apple’s AirTag uses other iPhone, iPad, and Mac devices on the Find My network to help track an item.
Trackers may be specific to certain operating systems such as iOS or Android.
Apple AirTag has raised privacy concerns, with reports over the past year suggesting the tags could be dropped into people’s belongings, such as wallets or cars, and used to track follow people without their knowledge.
Apple says AirTags has an “unwanted tracking guard” feature and shares alerts if an unknown follower may be traveling with you.
Liang said that while she is aware of AirTag’s potential safety concerns, she has no plans to fly in the future without the tag.
“I just want to know for myself that my personal items are safer than having to wait for three hours on the phone or possibly not getting any compensation if my luggage is delayed for weeks. ,” she said.
Liang’s series of videos echoes stories being shared around the country about baggage loss headaches and resonates with many passengers in similar situations who have turned to the tracking tool. baggage tracking.
With files from CTVNews.ca’s Michael Lee
