Trackers

[Staggard]

As someone who, for 16 years, was qualified to process and certify Dangerous Goods by Air, you would be shocked to read some of the case histories we came across. Yes, items such as these are supposed to be switched off, but leave something like that to Joe Public and it is certain that almost every aircraft in the air has something switched on that shouldn't be, or in the hold that isn't declared.....

I absolutely agree with you Dave but this gadget by definition has to be switched on to fulfil its purpose, so the question is would that be legal/acceptable/allowed by the Airport security.

[mole42]

It uses Bluetooth, which I believe is not dis-allowed by airlines. Dave will be able to tell us about the legality of placing the tracker in the hold.

The problem as I see it is that this device will only be effective if enough are in use to make sure that someone with an enabled mobile phone is close to the tracker. Reading the very bottom of the web page: "When an item goes missing with a TrackR device attached, all TrackR enabled phones will begin to search for that item. When another TrackR app user passes nearby the lost item, that user's phone will anonymously ping the TrackR server to update the item's owner with new GPS coordinates of when & where it was last seen."

So, it only works as intended if there is another user closer than 100m to the lost item when you report it as lost.

[DJT]

Legality. There is a word with a big meaning. To, knowingly, put something that is prohibited into the hold of an aircraft, either in passenger baggage or freight, is illegal. However, the IATA and ICOA rules are complex and contained in thick manuals which passengers won't be aware of. There are (or should be by law) notices at checkin and on tickets advising what is prohibited, but how many passengers actually read them?
On the courses I attended (every 2 years) the most often referred to aircraft losses was the Florida Everglades crash https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/ValuJet_Flight_592 It is said that no bodies were recovered, but the alligators didn't need food for a while......
I recall having to stand my ground when one of my bosses offshore told me to send some oxygen generators to another platform by helicopter as they were urgently required. I refused and had to show him why they were prohibited in passenger aircraft.

[mole42]

I'm interested in the rules about these trackers. I know that Lithium batteries are not allowed in the hold, and that radio transmitters are not allowed to be operated on an aircraft. If this tracker uses a non-lithium battery and is not transmitting unless it is reported lost, it should be allowable? Grey area? I suspect so!

[Flying stag]

Being 'involved' in aviation, you'd be surprised at how many devices are left transmitting by accident. There are also wifi networks on some aircraft now.

Most issues with transmitting devices aren't because of the 'dangerous goods' issues (although the chemical oxygen generators are a fantastic example, they are not allowed to be carried, but are actually fitted to some aircraft for the drop down masks for use in the event of a pressurisation failure.)

The issue is that it 'may' affect the navigation systems and it confuses the mobile telephone networks. Newer aircraft with GPS tend not to be affected and I accidentally left my phone on going across the Atlantic and had a 'welcome to Iceland' text message.

Would I put a tracking device in luggage knowing it transmits? No I wouldn't. But I always put a sheet of paper inside the suitcase with my name, address and phone number on it, as well as the labels on the outside.

[Tdm]

I have never had a problem with missing cases at Manchester, Liverpool, Stanstead, and Southend Airports, but on the 3 occasions we had to pass through Heathrow (en-route to Hawaii twice, and Sidney, Australia once) they lost the cases in Heathrow transferring them from one plane to another.

Fortunately on the 1st occasion the cases turned up in Honolulu the day after we arrived, and on the 2nd occasion (flying to Maui via San Francisco) they arrived at Maui Airport before we actually did as we had a stopover in San Francisco en-route.

En-route to Sidney it was just my case that went missing (not the wife's) but it arrived at our Sidney Harbour Hotel 3 days later just hours before we were due to board a Cruise Liner to New Zealand and Polynesia, and I had just bought some new clothes for myself in a Sidney Department Store a few hours before.

Now learnt to pack 1/2 of my clothes and 1/2 of the wife's clothes together in one suitacse, and the other two halfs in the second. That way we each have something to change into if just one case goes missing.

[Flying stag]

Transferring at LHR can be an issue if the connection is tight. Then, because the bag is travelling unaccompanied, it requires extra screening. It is fair to say that the baggage system at T5 and the new one in T2 have improved things significantly.

At MAN, LPL and STN, they are more 'point to point' airports so less likely to have through connections. Hopefully the airline that delayed your bag offered some compensation in accordance with the EU rules so you could be re-imbursed for the items you bought. The EU rules apply to any flight that starts, terminates or connects through the EU, irrespective where the issue happens.

[Tdm]

Transferring at LHR can be an issue if the connection is tight. Then, because the bag is travelling unaccompanied, it requires extra screening. It is fair to say that the baggage system at T5 and the new one in T2 have improved things significantly.

At MAN, LPL and STN, they are more 'point to point' airports so less likely to have through connections. Hopefully the airline that delayed your bag offered some compensation in accordance with the EU rules so you could be re-imbursed for the items you bought. The EU rules apply to any flight that starts, terminates or connects through the EU, irrespective where the issue happens.

The 1999 flight to Hawaii was for our Silver Wedding Anniversary and we used United Airlines, and on the plane just before landing at Honolulu a Stewardess jokingly gave us a couple of Fig leaves to wear, (where they found them from on the plane I have no idea), a bottle of champagne to take to our Hotel, and a compensation voucher to allow us to buy some emergency clothes in the City.

Unfortunately that 1st night was the day of our actual Anniversary, and instead of being able to dress up for the occasion at Dinner that evening, we had to eat in our Hotel (the Outrigger Reef on Waikiki Beach) wearing just the jeans and t-shirts we had travelled in.

One advantage of travelling with United Airlines was that they then gave you Air Miles to use on your next flight with them, and we earned enough Air Miles to be able to upgrade to 1st Class when we went back to Hawaii (Maui) in 2001 in February to Whale watch as 5,000 Humpbacks gather in the waters between the Islands of Maui & Lanai at that time of year to mate and breed and we went Whale watching every single morning and saw some amazing sights whilst in almost touching distance of those 40 to 50 Ton gracefull creatures as they performed their mating rituals.