More Than 50 Airlines Accept Apple’s Lost-Item Location Links. Here’s How to Share Your AirTag If a Holiday Bag Goes Missing

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If your checked bag doesn’t show up on the carousel, you can share AirTag location with airline baggage teams directly from your iPhone. Apple’s Share Item Location feature, which arrived with iOS 18.2, creates a temporary web link that shows where your AirTag is on a map. Apple says more than 50 airlines, including Delta, United, American, and JetBlue, accept these links as part of their lost-bag process.

Here’s how to share it: open the Find My app, tap Items, choose the AirTag in your bag, tap Share Item Location, and follow the onscreen steps to create the link. Then give the link to the airline’s baggage agent or paste it into your lost-bag report. The link updates as the bag moves, and it stops working after seven days, when you get your bag back, or when you turn it off.

The feature also works with some other Find My-compatible trackers, like those from Chipolo and Pebblebee. Here’s how it works and what to know before your holiday trip.

How to Share Your AirTag Location

Step 1: Report the bag missing

First, file a lost or delayed bag report with your airline. At the airport, go to the airline’s baggage service office before you leave. Many airlines also let you file a report online or in their app. You’ll get a file reference number.

Step 2: Open Find My

Open the Find My app on your iPhone, iPad, or Mac, then tap Items. Choose the AirTag or other tracker that’s in your bag.

Step 3: Tap Share Item Location

Scroll down on the item’s screen and tap Share Item Location. Follow the onscreen instructions to create a temporary webpage. You can copy the link or share it directly.

Step 4: Send the link to the airline

Give the link to the baggage agent, or add it to your lost-bag report online. Some airlines have a field in their lost-bag form for a tracker link. If you’re not sure where to put it, ask the agent.

Step 5: Tap Done

Once you’ve shared the link, tap Done. You can share the link with more people if needed.

What You Need to Share AirTag Location With Airline Staff

• An iPhone with iOS 18.2 or later, an iPad with iPadOS 18.2 or later, or a Mac with macOS 15.2 or later.
• An AirTag or other Find My-compatible tracker in your bag.
• At least one of your Apple devices online and signed in to your Apple Account, so the location can update.
• Your device must not be near the item. You can’t share the location of a tracker that’s right next to you.

The newer AirTag, introduced in January 2026, needs iOS 26.2.1 or later.

How Long the Link Lasts

Sharing stops automatically:

• When you’re reunited with the item.
• After 7 days.
• When you stop sharing manually.

To stop sharing, open Find My, tap Items, choose the item, and tap Stop Sharing Item Location.

Who Can See the Link

When Apple announced the feature in late 2024, it said access to each link would be limited to a small number of people at the airline, and that viewers would have to sign in with an Apple Account or a partner email address to see it. The page shows the item’s location on a map and updates as it moves.

Which Airlines Accept the Links

Apple says more than 50 airlines accept Share Item Location links, including Delta, United, American, and JetBlue, along with many international carriers. If your airline isn’t on the list, you can still share the link with an agent, but they may not have a formal process for using it. Check your airline’s lost-bag page for details.

Tips for Holiday Flights

• Put a tracker in every checked bag. An AirTag works best inside a pocket of the bag, where it won’t be removed or damaged.
• Check before you leave home. Make sure the tracker works and shows up in Find My.
• Take a photo of your bag and its contents. It helps with your report and any claim.
• Don’t leave the airport without a report. Even if your tracker shows the bag is still at your departure airport, file a report so the airline has a record.
• Check the map before filing. If your bag is at the airport, tell the agent where it is.
• Keep your report number handy. You’ll need it to follow up.

What a Tracker Can and Can’t Do

A tracker shows you where your bag is, but it doesn’t make the airline deliver it faster. The airline still has to find the bag, scan it, and put it on a flight or a delivery truck. A shared link helps them find it, especially if it’s in the wrong city.

Trackers update their location when they’re near Apple devices in the Find My network. In busy airports, that happens often. In remote areas or in a cargo hold, updates may be slower.

Your Rights if a Bag Is Lost

On domestic U.S. flights, airlines are responsible for lost, damaged, or delayed bags up to a liability limit set by the Department of Transportation. Check the DOT’s website for the current rules on bag-fee refunds, and keep receipts for anything you have to buy while you wait.

Setting Up an AirTag Before a Holiday Trip

If you haven’t used an AirTag in luggage before, set it up a few days before your trip:

• Pair it with your iPhone by holding it near the phone and following the prompts.
• Give it a clear name, like “Blue Suitcase,” so you can find it quickly in Find My.
• Test it by leaving it in another room and checking that it shows up on the map.
• Check the battery. The original AirTag uses a replaceable coin battery, and Find My will warn you when it’s low.
• Put it in a secure spot, like an inside zipper pocket, rather than an outside tag where it could be torn off.

If you’re traveling with family, consider giving each checked bag its own tracker, so you can tell which bag is where.

Rules for Trackers in Checked Bags

AirTags use a small coin cell battery, and they’re generally allowed in both carry-on and checked bags on U.S. flights. Some other trackers use different batteries, so check the airline’s rules if you use a different brand. If you’re flying internationally, check the rules of foreign airlines, which can differ.

What to Do if the Tracker Shows Your Bag Somewhere Else

Sometimes the map shows your bag at another airport, or still at your departure airport. If that happens:

• Tell the airline right away, with the airport code and the time of the last location update.
• Share the link, so the agent can see the same information.
• Check back regularly. If the bag moves to your destination airport, tell the airline it has arrived.
• Ask about delivery. Many airlines deliver delayed bags to your home or hotel once they arrive.
• Keep notes. Record when you called, who you spoke with, and what they said.

When Sharing the Link Helps Most

A shared location link is most useful when a bag has gone to the wrong place. Baggage systems track bags by scanning their tags at each step, but a bag that misses a scan, loses its tag, or gets loaded onto the wrong flight can be hard to find. A tracker shows where the bag actually is, not just where it was last scanned, which can help an agent narrow down the search.

It can also help when a bag is sitting somewhere unexpected inside an airport, like a different carousel, a baggage office, or a holding area for bags that missed a connection. In those cases, the agent can compare the map to the airport’s layout and send someone to check.

What Not to Do

• Don’t try to retrieve the bag yourself from secure areas. Even if the map shows your bag on the other side of a door, airport and airline staff have to get it for you.
• Don’t share the link publicly. Send it only to the airline and to anyone helping you, since it shows your bag’s location.
• Don’t rely on the tracker alone. Keep your bag tag receipt, your report number, and photos of your bag. The airline still needs those to process your claim.
• Don’t forget to stop sharing. Sharing ends automatically after seven days or when you get the bag back, but you can turn it off sooner in Find My.

Using Trackers From Other Brands

Share Item Location isn’t limited to Apple’s own tracker. It works with other trackers that are part of the Find My network, including some from brands like Chipolo and Pebblebee. The steps are the same: open Find My, tap Items, choose the tracker, and tap Share Item Location. Android users with trackers on Google’s network have separate tools, so check the tracker maker’s instructions if you don’t use an iPhone.

The Bottom Line on How to Share AirTag Location With Airline Staff

If your bag doesn’t show up, file a report, then use Share Item Location in Find My to send the airline a link to your AirTag’s location. More than 50 airlines accept these links. Put a tracker in every checked bag before your holiday flight, and keep your report number handy.