The Californian filmmaker may not know who has his bags but he knows where they live. Photo / Twitter, Screenshot; Taylor Van Ripper, Unsplash
The Californian filmmaker may not know who has his bags but he knows where they live. Photo / Twitter, Screenshot; Taylor Van Ripper, Unsplash
An Oscar-winning filmmaker has asked United Airlines why his checked luggage has turned up at an unknown residential address, on the other side of the country.
Film producer Errol Webber accused airline employees of taking film equipment from his bags when passing through Anchorage Airport.
Yesterday, Webber took to twitterposting screenshots from his FindMy App, tracking his luggage to an unknown address in Alaska.
It was 3700km away from his Californian home and a good 8km away from where it should have been, in the airport.
Suggesting that an unscrupulous airport worker had "rummaged through" his luggage, he revealed that he had been tracking the bag. And he was not pleased.
"Can you tell your employee who lives at: [Anchorage Address] to give me my stuff back?" Tagging in the carrier United Airlines.
The missing film equipment appeared at an unknown Alaskan address, 3762km away. Photo / Supplied
While it was not clear if the person in possession of the luggage was a United employee, the airline was quick to respond to the tweet.
In the United States luggage is handled by many different agencies before flying, including TSA, ground handlers and airport workers.
The Californian filmmaker may not know who has his bags but he knows where they live.
Some commentators said that the award-winning camera man behind "Music By Prudence" had shown anything but prudence when publishing the address online.
"Does this count as doxxing?" asked one of the 1500 replies to the tweet.
A pile on of tweets ensued, tagging in local authorities and photos of the street view.
Others said the light-fingered airport employee got what he deserved. United Airlines was contacted for comment.
The rise of AirTags and tracked bags
With an uptick in mishandled and late luggage across many airlines, passengers have taken it into their own hands to keep track of their luggage.
GPS trackers, such as the AirTag, have become a popular travel accessory. The number of passengers now flying with smart tags caused the airline Lufthansa to review the safety of the tiny battery-powered trackers.
Unfortunately knowing where your luggage is and getting it back are two different things. Especially if you are travelling internationally.
One passenger responded to Webber's tweet saying they had a similar experience. The traveller who saw his luggage disappear off airport to a London address, said the airline Aer Lingus was unable to help. Eventually after months of tracking the address they were able to work with local police to have the luggage returned.
Earlier this year a BA passenger accused an airline employee of taking his $150 bluetooth earphones, which also had a tracking function. Using the tracking data, he was able to track them down to an attendee of the airline training centre at Heathrow.
