Mumbai: In a first for any Asian airline, Air India has integrated Apple AirTag with its baggage-tracking system and mobile app. The new facility will allow customers using Apple devices to securely track the location of their baggage.
Air India transports more than 100 million items of baggage annually, with more than 99.6% of items arriving together with the accompanying customer. For the small proportion that does not, due to issues with airport baggage systems, flight misconnection or other factors, Air India aims to locate items and expedite recovery through the new AirTag integration.
The integration builds upon the easy-to-use baggage tracking feature offered by Air India on its mobile app and website, which leverages real-time information available from airports to keep guests informed.
For the passengers who have added their flight to the ‘My Trips’ section of the app, baggage information becomes automatically available soon after the bags are checked-in, as well as on the ‘Track my Bags’ tab of the website. Customers can also scan the barcode on their baggage receipts to initiate tracking.
Dr Satya Ramaswamy, chief digital and technology officer at Air India, said, “We continue to innovate and introduce cutting-edge digital capabilities as part of our customer-centric approach. As we transform into a world-class global airline, we are excited to offer our guests an innovative option to help locate their baggage in case it does not arrive at the destination on schedule. We are confident that our guests will find the baggage location capability offered using Apple’s AirTag and ‘Share Item Location’ feature along with Air India’s real-time baggage-tracking system on its website and mobile app quite helpful.”
Air India said that if the baggage, with the AirTag in it, does not arrive at the destination, the guest can report it at Air India’s Baggage Counter at the airport. The guest can share the AirTag’s location link generated from the ‘Find My’ app on their Apple device. The link can be associated while filing the Property Irregularity Report (PIR).
The guest can visit the ‘Customer Support Portal’ on the app and choose ‘Baggage’ and then select ‘Lost and Found Check-in Baggage’ and provide the AirTag link there. Similarly, the guest can visit ‘Lost and Found Check-in Baggage’ in the Customer Support Portal page of Air India’s website to provide the ‘Share Item Location’ link for their Apple AirTag, along with PIR number.
The shared AirTag link will then be used by Air India’s authorised airport teams to locate the baggage if its within airport premises and reunite the baggage with the guest at the earliest. Air India said that location sharing will automatically end as soon as a guest is reunited with their bag, or automatically expire after seven days for ensuring privacy and security.
