Imagine for a minute that you are on your way to your long-awaited surfing beach vacation only to find that your surfboard has gone missing at the airport. As far as travel nightmares go, losing your surfing gear at the airport has to be one of the worst. So with this in mind, I explore why an AirTag is a must-have if you’re flying with your surfboard.
Thanks to Apple’s Bluetooth tracker, the AirTag, losing your surfboard at the airport doesn’t have to be a nightmare. In this article, I dig into why you should be using an AirTag when you fly with your surfboard.
Peace Of Mind, Track Your Surfboard At The AirPort
It is almost impossible to prevent losing a surfboard completely while flying, however, an AirTag can give you some peace of mind at the Airport. With access to hundreds of millions of Apple devices around the world, you can easily track the location of your surfboard right from your iPhone.
Although an AirTag will not prevent you from losing your surfboard while at an airport, it can significantly help to improve your chances of finding it if it becomes lost. So before you jet off on your surfing vacation, take a minute to consider the following reasons why an AirTag is a must-have when you next check your surfboard onto a flight.
Peace Of Mind Knowing Where Your Surfboard Is At In The Airport
You might just be looking for reassurance that your surfboard is somewhere in the airport. An AirTag is perfect for this, pop an AirTag inside your surfboard bag, and you can easily track its whereabouts right from your iPhone. Knowing where your surfboard is at is a key piece of information to give an airline baggage agent to help with baggage recovery in the event it goes missing.
Since surfboard bags are typically considered oversized (odd-sized) in the world of airline baggage, they’re typically not picked up from the same baggage carousels as regular-sized luggage. Usually, there is a dedicated oversized claim where you will pick your surfboard up. An AirTag can prove helpful in this situation too.
An Airline Baggage Agent Can Easily Get Your Contact Info
One great feature of an AirTag is, that if your surfboard goes missing, an airline baggage agent can get your contact info by tapping your AirTag with an NFC-capable smartphone. This feature is super helpful, especially if your surfboard becomes lost at the airport due to a missing bag tag. With no bag tag, there is very little for a baggage agent to go on, so this is where an AirTag can also prove its worth.
AirTags Work In Most Countries
An AirTag works in many countries. However, to be effective an AirTag’s Bluetooth signal needs to be detected by a nearby device in the Apple Find My network. If your AirTag is in a less densely populated area where no one passes frequently, it’s less likely that your AirTag’s location will be updated. That being said, with so many Apple devices at an airport, you will enjoy regular updates.
Top tech tip: An AirTag does not use GPS to determine its location so don’t expect to track your AirTag’s location in real-time while its moving.
Get A Little Help From Apple’s Global Finding Network And App
The Find My app makes it easy to see an AirTag attached to surfboard bag. The Find My app allows you to locate the AirTag on a map or play a sound to pinpoint its location. The Find My network is a crowd-sourced network of hundreds of millions of Apple devices that use Bluetooth technology to detect AirTags and report their approximate location. The entire process is encrypted and anonymous, so no one else, not even Apple can view your AirTag’s location or information.
One Year’s Worth Of Battery Life
Besides all the cool tracking benefits you get from an AirTag, another great feature for those traveling to surf is that an AirTag is a set-it-and-forget-it gadget. Once you’ve paired and set up an AirTag, you can attach it to your surfboard bag and forget about it. That’s because an AirTag’s battery will last around one year before it needs to be replaced.
How Exactly Do AirTags Work?
AirTags send anonymous, secure Bluetooth signals discoverable by nearby Apple devices on the Find My network. These devices then send the AirTag’s position to iCloud so the location can be seen on the Find My app map.
If your AirTag is close to you, your iPhone, using Precision Finding, will lead you straight to it. Precision Finding uses Ultra-Wideband technology to provide spacial and directional information on your supported Apple iPhone.
If however, your AirTag is not near, your AirTag can also be put into Lost Mode, just like other Apple products. When your AirTag is in Lost Mode, when it’s detected by a nearby Apple device on the Find My network, you’ll automatically receive a notification on your iPhone.
What About AirTag Accessories for Surfboard Bags?
One negative of an AirTag is the lack of a hole for attaching it to stuff. The lack of a hole means that you’ll likely need to use an AirTag accessory to keep your new tracking gadget safe and secure, or of course you could toss it into a pocket and call it a day.
When I travel, I personally put my AirTag in a Ziploc bag and place it in a pocket inside my bag. I do this because I do not want my AirTag to be torn off while traveling through an airport’s baggage handing system.
Frequently Asked Questions
Hopefully, I have answered all of your questions related to, why an AirTag is a must-have if you’re flying with your surfboard. You may still have other questions surrounding AirTags. If you do, below, I have answered some AirTag frequently asked questions, or check out my other article on popular AirTag tracking ideas.
Can you view an AirTag’s location history?
How often does an AirTag update its location?
Is an AirTag waterproof?
Final Thoughts On Why An AirTag Is A Must-Have If You’re Flying With Your Surfboard
So, in conclusion, I hope you have found my article on why an AirTag is a must-have if you’re flying with your surfboard helpful. Losing your surfboard bag at an airport is every surfers worst nightmare. With an AirTag inside or attached to your surfboard bag, what you are getting is peace of mind about its whereabouts. That alone is reason enough why you should use an AirTag the next time you fly with your surfboard.
