Air France says lost luggage was destroyed after passenger tracked bag with AirTag

An Air France passenger says the airline failed to retrieve a missing suitcase even after he tracked it with an Apple AirTag, and the carrier later informed him the bag had been destroyed.

Joshua Bittker, 48, of Cambridge, Massachusetts, said he packed an AirTag in a purple duffel before flying home to Boston from Paris on Aug. 16. He told staff at Charles de Gaulle Airport that the bag had not been loaded onto the plane, but the airline assured him it would arrive on a subsequent flight. When he landed at Logan International Airport in Boston, the bag had not come with him.

Bittker said his iPhone’s Find My app continued to show the AirTag at the terminal for two days after his departure. According to the family’s account to the Boston Globe, the tracker then indicated the bag had been moved to an airport storage facility and ultimately was sent for disposal to a charity thrift shop north of Paris.

The family said they reported the loss repeatedly by phone, online and in person at Logan Airport over a three-week period. Bittker said he provided Air France with a direct tracking link through the airline’s online portal but that the link was never opened. Weeks after the flight, Air France contacted Bittker to say the bag had been “destroyed,” the family said.

Bittker and his family filed a claim for the contents of the bag — which they listed as clothes, shoes, bottles of liquor, prescription medication, dental retainers, souvenirs and other items of sentimental value — totaling about $1,750. He said Air France has not reimbursed the family and told him the claim had not been assigned to a reviewer, adding the carrier cited a high volume of claims.

Gary Bittker, Joshua’s son, told the newspaper that when he first contacted Air France staff they appeared to confirm they had the bag, a response the family said was misleading. Joshua Bittker told the Globe: “What’s so frustrating is that we have this great technology, but Air France, at least in my case, wouldn’t or couldn’t use it.”

Air France’s domestic baggage claims guidance encourages passengers to share AirTag location information through its portal, stating that by doing so passengers authorize the airline to access and use the data to help locate baggage. The airline’s page says such data is available by default for seven days and that passengers may stop sharing it at any time.

Apple last year announced partnerships with multiple airlines to allow passengers to privately and securely share AirTag location information with carriers through a Share Item Location feature. Apple said access to shared links is limited to a small number of authorized recipients and requires authentication through an Apple account or a partner email address.

The Bittker family’s account raises questions about how tracking information is handled after passengers provide links, and about procedures for locating and recovering unclaimed items at airports. Airport lost-and-found operations and airline baggage services vary by carrier and location; in some cases luggage found in secure areas may be transferred to storage or disposal if not reclaimed.

A representative for Air France did not immediately respond to a request for further comment on the Bittker family’s claim. The Daily Mail, which first reported the family’s account, said it had contacted both Air France and Bittker. The family continues to seek reimbursement for the lost items and information about what led to the bag being removed from airport storage and sent to a thrift shop in France.