Passport, money, AirTag? Why luggage woes are back

Travelers await their bags amid rows of unclaimed luggage at the baggage claim area at Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) in Los Angeles, California. A year after air travel stormed back from pandemic lows, overwhelming the system with airport chaos and luggage pileups, airlines are still struggling to keep up. — AFP

After returning to New York from Oslo in late May, Harley Hendrix noticed her suitcase containing a cherished Alexander McQueen dress had been diverted to Copenhagen.

Also rotting in Denmark: packs of cheese that Hendrix had stuffed into the suitcase to bring back home. While she hadn’t visited Copenhagen, Hendrix knew the bag was there because, like many people these days, she had tucked an AirTag inside. Delta Air Lines Inc first told her it was at John F. Kennedy International, then Dallas. But the tracker was pinging from Denmark.