SITA demonstrates how the integration of Apple´s "Find My Item" strengthens baggage management for airports and airlines

As millions of travelers prepare for the holiday season, a year-long collaboration between SITA and Apple is delivering measurable improvements to the checked baggage experience. By combining Apple's technology with SITA's global aviation infrastructure, the partnership helps airlines act more proactively and gives passengers clearer visibility of their luggage during the peak travel period.

Passengers using an Apple AirTag can use the Object Location Sharing feature to temporarily and securely share their baggage location with their airline via SITA WorldTracer®. This creates a direct link between the provided location and airline baggage recovery systems, an approach that has already demonstrated a clear impact during its first year of implementation.

SITA's analysis shows that while most bags are successfully returned to their owners, a small percentage are never recovered and are considered "truly lost." For bags equipped with an AirTag or a Find My Network accessory, the number of truly lost pieces of luggage decreased by 90% when the location-sharing feature was enabled through WorldTracer®. This improvement gives passengers a much higher chance of being reunited with their luggage and reduces costly loss charges for airlines.

“This year has demonstrated the power of working together,” said Nicole Hogg, Baggage Portfolio Director at SITA. “When consumer technology and aviation infrastructure connect in the right way, the results can be transformative. Travelers feel more confident, airlines make better decisions further in advance, and the entire recovery process becomes more predictable. This is exactly the kind of shared innovation that drives the industry forward.”

Airlines using Find My Share Item Location also saw a 26% reduction in delayed baggage retrieval time, allowing more bags to be returned to their owners faster. Adoption continues to grow: 29 airlines currently use the Apple Search integration in WorldTracer® as part of their baggage retrieval processes, and more are expected to join in the coming months.

The latest SITA Baggage IT Insights report provides key context. Globally, mishandling rates for baggage remain low, at 6.3 bags per 1,000 passengers, and 66% of mishandled baggage is reunited with its owners within 48 hours, thanks to improved data sharing and automation. The collaboration between Apple and SITA builds on this foundation by adding dynamic, passenger-authorized location data to recovery workflows, enabling faster decisions and fewer unresolved cases.

This combined approach becomes even more valuable during peak holiday demand, when tight connections, winter weather in the Northern Hemisphere, and high transfer volumes put additional strain on baggage systems. By merging consumer visibility with airline operations, the collaboration between Apple and SITA creates a more connected and predictable experience for travelers when they need it most.

“The first year of this collaboration is also telling us something important about the market as a whole,” Hogg added. “Airlines around the world are looking for ways to manage increased passenger volume without adding complexity. What we’re seeing with Find My Share Item Location is that when passengers choose to share high-quality location data, airlines gain a level of clarity that wasn’t previously available. This helps reduce lost baggage, speed up recovery, and support more resilient operations at a time when the industry needs it more than ever.”

WorldTracer® is deployed in more than 2,800 airports and used by over 500 airlines and handling operators worldwide. With the integration of Apple's Find My Share Item Location, the system connects aviation-grade infrastructure with secure consumer technology, helping to deliver a smoother and more reliable baggage experience.

As global travel continues to grow, the first year of enabling Find My Share Item Location on SITA WorldTracer® highlights how meaningful partnerships can generate results at scale, benefiting airlines, passengers, and the entire aviation ecosystem.

Source: SITA.