An airline losing your luggage is a surefire way to ruin the start of a holiday. You don’t want to have to be buying emergency clothes when you should be sipping cocktails on the beach instead.

But there’s good news that should mean less lost luggage.

Lufthansa Group airlines – including Lufthansa, SWISS, Austrian Airlines, Brussels Airlines, and Eurowings – are rolling out a new feature.

From now on, they’ll use the Apple AirTag tracking feature to help find lost luggage.

How will AirTags help find lost luggage?

If you have an AirTag in your bag, the airlines will let you share the location of the Tag with them, making for an easy way to show them that your bag hasn’t arrived at its destination.

Apple has made it even easier by introducing a feature that lets AirTag and FindMy network users generate a link to share their item’s location.

Airlines introduce improved baggage tracking systems

“Thanks to our app and website, passengers can now find solutions quickly and easily in the event of irregularities,” says Oliver Schmitt, Head of the Lufthansa Group Digital Hangar.

Schmitt explains that integrating customers’ AirTag data has already improved baggage tracing. This allows airlines to track bags more efficiently and quickly, an easy win for customer service.

“Customers want bag tracking,” says Tero Taskila, CEO of beOnd, a Maldivian airline headquartered in Dubai, citing the airline’s post-flight surveys.

“We plan to implement Apple AirTag in the second half of 2025 as it’s relatively simple for airlines to integrate this technology.”

How do AirTags work?

AirTags are like tiny digital detectives for any item you want to keep track of.

About the size of a large coin, they send out a Bluetooth signal that nearby devices in Apple’s Find My network can detect. These devices then relay the location of your AirTag to iCloud, allowing you to check its whereabouts in real time on a map via the Find My app.

Savvy travellers have been using AirTags to track their luggage for a while now, often beating airlines to the punch when bags go missing.

Social media is full of amusing stories of passengers playing detective – spotting their suitcase at the wrong airport or even proving to an airline that their ‘lost’ bag is actually sitting in a storage room just down the hall.

Airlines might be less likely to lose your luggage this summer

From 2007 to 2022, baggage mishandling decreased by almost 60 per cent, according to Monika Mejstrikova, IATA’s Director of Ground Operations.

In 2022, there was a surge in mishandled bags, mainly due to the sudden resurgence of travel after Covid travel restrictions, staff shortages and the unpreparedness of the aviation industry.

According to statistics from SITA, which handles IT systems for 90 percent of airlines, the number of bags that were delayed, lost, or damaged rose from 4.35 in 2021 to 7.6 pieces of luggage per 1,000 passengers in 2022.

Airlines embracing better technology and integrating AirTag tracking should mean a bag is reunited faster with its owner if it does get lost.

Advice on what to do to reduce the chance of losing checked-in luggage

According to IATA, 99 per cent of all baggage travels with the passenger as planned, and the vast majority of mishandled bags are returned to the passenger within 48 hours.

Mishandled bags are most commonly due to tight flight transfer times, often caused by air traffic control delays. Sometimes, there’s just not enough time to get your bag onto the next flight.

Always use a traditional luggage tag alongside your AirTag and snap a quick photo of your suitcase before you fly. A clear image and visible contact details can help airline staff quickly identify and return your bag.

If your bag doesn’t show up at baggage reclaim, report it at the airport before you leave and make sure you get details of who to contact if your baggage is not sent on to you.

Mount Etna, the tallest and most active volcano in Europe, is currently erupting, leaving travellers bound for the Italian island of Sicily worried.

The latest eruption began on 11 February, sending a plume of ash and lava into the air visible from miles around.

The eruption is from the volcano’s south-east crater, called Bocca Nuova, meaning ‘new mouth’.

A 3-km river of lava is flowing out of the crater.

During previous eruptions, nearby towns have been covered in black volcanic ash however this eruption has caused minimal disruption.

Tourists and locals have continued to hike on the volcano during the eruption. Read on for details on how to hike Mount Etna safely.

Catania airport: Is the airport closest to Mount Etna closed?

Catania airport stands at the foot of Mount Etna, giving departing and arriving passengers a spectacular view of the volcano.

Catania–Fontanarossa Airport, also known as Vincenzo Bellini Airport, on the island’s east coast, is Sicily’s most popular airport with international tourists.

On 12 February, part of Catania airport was closed due to reduced visibility from the ash.

However, the airport has not been closed since and flights are currently operating as normal.

Despite this, the airport’s management has advised passengers to check their flight status with their airline before leaving home.

You can check airline’s apps or websites for the most up to date information, as well as their social media channels. Also keep an eye on the email account with which you made the booking as your airline or booking platform may contact you to advise you of changes.

Check Catania airport departures and arrivals here.

Mount Etna: Will passengers be able to claim compensation?

In case Catania airport flights are disrupted again, airlines are required to offer you another flight or a refund is a flight is cancelled or delayed by more than three hours.

However, this is only when they could have prevented the disruption. In the case of a volcanic eruption, it is not their fault.

But in most cases airlines will still endeavour to get passengers to their final destination.

It’s always wise to have travel insurance as you may be able to claim back for unexpected expenses.

Yes, it is still safe to travel to Sicily, even when Mount Etna is erupting.

Local authorities and residents are used to dealing with Mount Etna eruptions. For the last five years, it has been erupting multiple times every year. Despite this, tourism to Sicily has only been on the rise.

Where is Mount Etna and is it dangerous?

Mount Etna is on the east coast of the Italian island of Sicily.

It is Europe’s most active volcano

Although Mt Etna erupts frequently, lava has not reached nearby towns since the 1800s.

Etna more than 200 craters and when one of these does erupt, black volcanic ash lands in the city of Catania, as its foot, and the many surrounding towns and villages. This is inconvenient to residents but usually not a problem for visitors.

Even during an eruption, there are many hiking trails and paths that are still safe, though it is a legal requirement to go up with a qualified mountain guide.

A new rail route connecting Vilnius, Riga and Tallinn has just made travel between the Baltic capitals much easier.

From this month, travellers can seamlessly travel between Vilnius and Tallinn in a single day, thanks to an improved train service that has slashed previous journey times.

After Lithuania launched the Vilnius-Riga train service last December, the next logical step was connecting all three capitals.

Three Baltic carriers—LTG Link, Vivi, and Elron—will now coordinate train schedules to ensure connectivity between the cities.  Until now, it has been impossible to travel by train from Vilnius to Tallinn in a single day.

A single booking platform also now covers the entire journey, allowing passengers to purchase one ticket for the whole trip.

Faster travel between the capitals

Reaching Tallinn from Vilnius by train previously required multiple stops and long wait times, making buses more practical despite the journey time. Bus trips between the destinations can last around 9 hours, depending on the operator.

The updated rail journey is now far more streamlined, with more efficient timetable coordination between Lithuanian, Latvian, and Estonian rail operators.

“The entire LTG team is committed to providing passengers with more travel options in Lithuania and abroad. This is a strategic step and an example of collaboration between the three Baltic States. Our team strives to reduce transfers to just one,”  Egidijus Lazauskas, CEO of LTG Group said in a statement.

The full journey from Vilnius to Tallinn spans 789 kilometres and costs a budget-friendly €39 in second class.

Those travelling between Vilnius and Riga will pay €24 in second class or €34 in first class, while the Riga-Tallinn leg is priced at €30.50.

One day journey: what to expect

The new schedule departs from Vilnius at 07:05, reaching Riga by 11:04 before continuing to Valga.

In this Estonian border town, passengers transfer to the Estonian train for the final stretch to Tallinn, arriving at 17:34.

In the opposite direction, the train leaves Tallinn at 10:25 and arrives in Vilnius by 21:03- making same-day travel between the capitals possible for the first time.

Both segments of the journey provide a modern and comfortable travel experience.

The Lithuanian train has air-conditioned cabins, luggage racks, and a catering compartment that offers coffee, snacks, and sandwiches. First-class passengers receive complimentary water and a hot drink.

Upon reaching Valga, passengers transfer to an Estonian train equipped with free WiFi, power sockets, and onboard information screens.

How to Book your ticket

Purchasing tickets for the new route is relatively straightforward. Passengers can buy a single ticket for the full journey via the Lithuanian Railways website.

Reservations open 30 days in advance, and travellers can display their tickets on their phones or print them.

The train journey from Vilnius to Tallinn costs €39 for a second-class ticket, with a fixed fare.

Travel between Vilnius and Riga is priced at €24 for second-class and €34 for first-class. The fixed price includes a seat reservation.

A trip from Riga to Tallinn costs €30.50 for a second-class ticket with a fixed fare.

Interrail and Eurail pass holders must make a reservation for the Vilnius-Riga leg, but they can board the Riga-Valga and Valga-Tallinn trains freely.

Cyclists can bring bikes on board for a small fee, while pet owners can bring small pets in carriers free of charge. Larger pets require a small surcharge.