Passengers can now tell KLM where their bags are

KLM is the latest airline to implement Apple’s “Find My Share Item Location” feature to improve the process of recovering lost or delayed baggage.

Passengers can use the new Share Item Location feature to privately and securely share the location of their AirTag or Find My network accessory with KLM customer service to locate lost or delayed bags.

It is another example of passenger self-service: meaning the passenger does the job the airline used to do.

How it works

Passengers using Apple AirTags or other “Find My” network accessories can generate a “Share Item Location” link through the Find My app.
KLM has integrated this functionality into its online lost baggage reporting process, allowing passengers to provide the location link.
By sharing this link with KLM customer service, passengers enable the airline to track the location of their bags more efficiently.

Privacy and Security

The system is designed with privacy in mind. Location sharing is end-to-end encrypted.
Location sharing automatically stops when the passenger is reunited with their bag.
Passengers can stop sharing the location at any time.
The shared location link automatically expires after seven days.

Barry ter Voert, KLM Chief Experience Officer:

At KLM, we continuously strive to improve the travel experience of our passengers. This integration of Share Item Location with AirTag fits seamlessly with that ambition. Every lost suitcase is one too many and we want to tackle that in an innovative way. This contributes to higher customer satisfaction and reduces baggage claim costs and the workload of tracing baggage.

About Share Item Location

Share Item Location is built on the Apple Find My network, a crowdsourced network of over one billion Apple devices that use Bluetooth wireless technology to detect missing devices or items nearby and report their approximate location back to the owner.

The entire process is end-to-end encrypted and anonymous, so no one else, not even Apple or Find My Network accessory manufacturers, can view an item’s location or information.

To use the new Share Item Location feature, passengers should verify that their Apple device is running iOS 18.2, iPadOS 18.2, or macOS 15.2 or later.

Airlines already using Share Item Location

This is likely to become an airline industry standard, Air Canada and United were the first to offer this feature in December 2024. Since then, many airlines have implemented it or are planning to do so soon.

Airlines now offering it include: