Mom Takes Matters Into Own Hands With Apple's AirTag, Outwits United Airlines In Finding Lost Bag

One determined lacrosse mom takes matters into her own hands after her daughter’s bag goes missing during a flight — using nothing but her sheer determination and Apple Inc.’s AAPL AirTag. 

What Happened: Sandra Shuster’s frustration began when her daughter Ruby’s checked bag vanished from their Baltimore to Denver flight. Despite assurances from United Airlines, the bag failed to arrive on the expected flight from Chicago. 

Armed with an AirTag, Sandra noticed that the tracker indicated the bag’s presence at the baggage reclaim in Chicago’s O’Hare airport, contradicting the airline’s claims that it was still in Baltimore, reported CNN. 

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Shuster’s numerous calls to United’s lost baggage helpline proved unfruitful, with each representative offering different explanations and failing to locate the bag. 

Given that the bag contained her 15-year-old daughter’s lacrosse kit, Shuster decided against waiting for the airline’s sluggish processes to resolve the issue and took matters into her hands. She booked a flight to the Windy City using her accumulated air miles.

After landing in Chicago, Shuster headed straight to the baggage claim area armed with her AirTag data. Within moments, the airport staff located the bag, confirming her suspicions that it was indeed there all along. 

The whole ordeal lasted only 30 seconds, a stark contrast to the days of back-and-forth with the airline, the report noted. 

Why It’s Important: Just last month, a corporate magician faced a similar ordeal after landing at Newark Airport. 

Surprisingly, his bag also disappeared while traveling with United. Fortunately, he retrieved his bag using AirTag data, but not before going through the detailed process of re-entering the terminal, including buying a fully refundable ticket to Boston merely for access. 

After its release in 2021, Apple’s AirTag quickly gained popularity as a device meant to assist users in finding their personal items. 

However, it later faced scrutiny when concerns arose about its potential misuse by stalkers, who could exploit its tracking capabilities to monitor unsuspecting individuals without their knowledge or consent.

Image Credits – Shutterstock

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