United Airlines tells customer their luggage is missing... but an AirTag tells another story

Two United Airlines passengers were left infuriated after being told their bags were missing but their AirTag told a different story. 

Dan Adams and his partner Kurt had meticulously planned a two-month European getaway, and even treated themselves to flying business class to Barcelona with United. 

With such careful planning for the long trip, they had taken extra precautions and put AirTags in their bags. 

Adams, who described it as 'the vacation of a lifetime', told NBC that when the pair arrived in Barcelona, they checked on the whereabouts of their four checked bags. 

'We get to Barcelona. Get off the flight, go into the airport. And I get out my phone. And all four bags are there, so I'm like, "Yay, they made it",' he told the outlet. 

After they collected three bags, the pair patiently waited for the fourth. Adams said he wasn't concerned as they could see the bag was only feet away from them. 

'I looked on the phone to see where it was, and it was only a few feet from where I was standing. I figured they probably forgot to put it on the belt that takes it up to the carousel l from down below. It's probably just stuck there, and somebody forget it,' he added. 

They had approached a baggage rep to try and rectify the situation, but the baggage rep came back to them empty handed. 

'She came back and said, "No, there's no sign of your bag. Probably somebody took it." I said, "Nobody took it. The AirTag shows it right there,"' he recalled. 

The baggage rep, however, made it clear that they do not acknowledge AirTags and 'go by their own system', according to Adams. 

The pair were promised that their luggage would be delivered to them later that night, so after long hours of travel leaving them exhausted, the couple left. 

'We were tired, jetlagged, and I said ok. And that was my mistake. I trust United when I shouldn't have,' he said. 

Their final bag never arrived, and Adams was subjected to watch the AirTag within the bag move in the wrong direction later that night. 

'It came into Barcelona and then just kept moving out of Barcelona,' he recalled, adding that he watched the bag travel 34 minutes out of the city.  

'I knew at that point that I'd never see that bag again and all the stuff that was inside of it.' 

Adams remained convinced that an airport worker took off with his belongings and added that the airline did very little to help him. 

He filed a complaint with United for his stolen belongings, but he wasn't reimbursed for anything and added: 'I've been a really good United customer for years and years. And they know that, yet they treated me this way.' 

Travel expert, Katy Nastro, told the outlet that Adams' story was 'alarming' but reassured that the chances of it happening are low. 

She added that if you use AirTags, as Adams had, you should wait in the airport and contact airport police if the airline won't help you. 

'It can pay to just stick it out and see if you can get that bag from the airport versus having it delivered to your hotel or accommodation, especially when travelling abroad,' she added. 

United told DailyMail.com in a statement: 'Police in Barcelona are handling the investigation into this missing bag.' 

They added that Adams was reimbursed for his 'frustrating experience' and was also offered a $200 travel credit. 

Adams said: 'I just want people to know what happened to me, so it doesn't happen to them.'  

'Even if you take precautions of putting an AirTag into your luggage to see where it is, there are elements out there that are going to make sure you don't get your luggage, no matter what,' he added. 

The airline also added that 'in the coming months, United will begin accepting Find My item locations as part of our customer service process for locating mishandled or delayed bags.'

This comes as 15 major airlines implemented a new 'Share Item Location' feature for travelers with Apple AirTags to find their lost luggage. 

While you can use AirTags privately to track luggage, airline baggage services had yet to set up internal ways to link up to the tag's tracking information... until now.

Some of the airlines that have already started using this process include Delta Airlines, United Airlines, British Airways, Lufthansa, Qantas and Virgin Atlantic.

'We know many of our customers are already traveling with AirTag in their checked bags, and this feature will soon make it easier for them to share location information with us safely and securely,' David Kinzelman, United's chief customer officer, told CBS News this month.

He added that the feature is only available with United in select airports, but there are plans to introduce 'the service systemwide in early 2025.' 

The secure links AirTag owners create are meant to ensure user privacy, and the shared item will immediately be disabled once the luggage owner is reunited with their belongings.

'Access to each link will be limited to a small number of people, and recipients will be required to authenticate in order to view the link through either their Apple Account or partner email address,' Apple said in a news release.

Links that do not get disabled will automatically expire after seven days.

The 'Share Item Location' feature is available now in most regions worldwide as part of the public beta of iOS 18.2, which will soon be available to all users for iPhone Xs and later through a software update.