United said it lost a passenger's bag, but the AirTag inside showed something else

Dan Adams and his partner Kurt traveled to Europe this summer for a two-month holiday. They splurged and flew business class to Barcelona on United Airlines. 

“We kind of planned this trip for a long time. It was like the trip of a lifetime,” said Adams.

He tucked AirTags into the couple’s 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,’” said Adams.

The couple collected three of the bags. But the fourth one never came out. But Adams wasn’t worried. His phone told him exactly where it was. 

“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 from down below. It’s probably just stuck there, and somebody forgot it,” he said. 

Adams asked a baggage rep to look for his luggage. But she returned 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.’ She said, ‘We don’t go by AirTags, we go by our own system,’” he recalled. 

Adams said the rep promised him they’d deliver the bag later that night, so reluctantly, the couple left. 

“We were tired, jetlagged, and I said okay. And that was my mistake. I trusted United when i shouldn’t have,” said Adams.

Adams never got his bag. Later that night, he watched on his phone as his bag started moving but in the wrong direction. 

“It came into Barcelona and then just kept moving out of Barcelona,” he said.

Adams watched his 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,” he said. 

Adams is convinced an airport worker took off with his belongings. And he said United did very little to help him.

He eventually filed a claim with United for his stolen belongings, but the airline didn’t reimburse him for everything. 

“I've been a really good United customer for years and years. And they know that. Yet they treated me this way,” he said. 

Katy Natro is a travel expert with going.com. 

“People shouldn’t go into fear every time they check a bag that it’s going to get lost and then never to be found,” she said. 

Nastro said Adams’ story is alarming, but the chances of this happening are low. According to the Department of Transportation, the lost bag rate is less than 1%. 

Nastro said if you use AirTags and you know your bag is at the airport, like Adams did, don’t leave it behind. If the airline won’t help you find it, contact airport police. 

“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 traveling abroad,” she said.

We reached out to United. It said it’s “working with local law enforcement to understand the details of this situation.” United then reimbursed Adams the rest of his claim about $230. It also offered him a $200 travel credit. 

Adams is still disappointed by how United treated him. 

“I just want people to know what happened to me, so it doesn’t happen to them,” he said.

And he wants other travelers to know what could go wrong. 

“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 said. 

Baggage tips

• Avoid connections. That decreased the chance of your checked bag getting lost. 
• Take pictures of what you put inside your bag. That makes it easier if you need to file a claim. 
• Avoid checking a bag. Pack everything into a carryon.