How to use AirTags and other tracking devices to find lost luggage

Airlines have lost so much luggage of passengers this summer that travel pros are advising people against checking any bags at all. 

Indeed, when you hand over your luggage to airline personnel, you run the risk of being separated from your belongings for the entirety of your trip — or longer. Many airlines face a shortage of crew and airport staff, including baggage handlers, resulting in luggage pileups at airports across the globe. 

Airlines mishandled nearly 220,000 pieces of luggage in April, up 135% from the same month a year ago, according to the Office of Aviation Consumer Protection. Flights at London's Heathrow Airport were so backed up that Delta Air Lines flew 1,000 pieces of stranded luggage to the U.S. with no passengers aboard the aircraft.