Apple Confirms iOS 18.2 Will Let You Share AirTag Locations With Your Airline

The public beta of Apple’s iOS 18.2 now supports Share Item Location, a feature that lets owners of AirTags and other Find My-enabled accessories share tracking with third parties, including airlines.

The previously leaked feature is active in “most regions” worldwide, Apple said. To use it, you simply go to an item’s details in the Find My app for iPhone, iPad, or Mac, then tap the appropriate “Share” button to generate a web link. The link is valid for seven days, but sharing can be stopped at any time, and will halt automatically once you’re reunited with your lost item.

Apple is partnering with a number of airlines to integrate Find My tracking into their customer service systems for missing bags. Over the next several months, some initial partners will include:

• Aer Lingus
• Air Canada
• Air New Zealand
• Austrian Airlines
• British Airways
• Brussels Airlines
• Delta Air Lines
• Eurowings
• Iberia
• KLM Royal Dutch Airlines
• Lufthansa
• Qantas
• Singapore Airlines
• Swiss International Air Lines
• Turkish Airlines
• United
• Virgin Atlantic
• Vueling

Since privacy is an obvious concern, the company adds that only a small number of people at each airline will get access to a Find My link. Recipients will also have to authenticate through their Apple Account or a partner company’s email address.

United may be one of the earliest adopters, since it expects to have Share Item Location support running system-wide in early 2025. The feature could eventually become an industry standard, since a firm called SITA is planning to build support into WorldTracer, a baggage-tracking system used by over 500 airlines.

Apple has yet to say when the final version of iOS 18.2 will go live, but it’s currently rumored for release in the first week of December. Some other expected additions include ChatGPT integration, the Image Playground app, and support for Genmoji.