By Editor,Jack Toledo

Copyright dailymail

An Air France passenger was stunned when the airline refused to collect his missing luggage despite being given the precise location tracked with an Apple AirTag, leaving the purple duffel bag to go on a journey from the bowels of an airport to a Parisian thrift shop.

Joshua Bittker was flying home to Boston from France in August when he packed the tiny tracker in case his belongings went missing.

He first became suspicious of the bag’s whereabouts before departing Charles De Gaulle Airport, saying he told staff it hadn’t been loaded onto the plane.

‘They said “don’t worry, it’s on its way”. Then said it was on the next flight when it wasn’t either- now can’t even confirm where it is,’ Bittker said on X.

When he arrived at Logan Airport in Massachusetts, his bag was still in France. Bittker’s Find My app on his iPhone tracked the bag at the terminal for two more days after he left on August 16.

It was then moved to an airport storage facility and subsequently sent for disposal to a charity thrift shop north of Paris, according to the Boston Globe.

The Bittker family continued to reach out to Air France, taking every measure by phone, online, and in person at Logan Airport for three weeks.

Weeks later, Air France finally responded to Bittker, explaining the bag had been ‘destroyed’.

The response came despite the 48-year-old sharing the tracking information on the company’s online portal, which could have led to the return of his belongings.

However, he said his link was never opened.

‘What’s so frustrating is that we have this great technology, but Air France, at least in my case, wouldn’t or couldn’t use it,’ he told the Globe.

The family filed a claim to compensate for their lost items, including clothes, shoes, bottles of liquor, prescription medication, dental retainers, souvenirs, and items of sentimental value. The claim was approximately $1,750 according to the source.

Bittker’s son Gary told the Globe that the airline brushed him off when he reached out, saying the airline confirmed they had his bag.

He told the outlet that Air France said: ‘Thank you for reaching out and providing detailed information regarding the Bittker family’s situation. We sincerely understand the frustration and inconvenience caused by the delayed baggage, and we acknowledge the difficulties this has created for the family.’

Seemingly unhelpful in the family’s efforts to get their luggage back.

Bittker has not yet been reimbursed by Air France and told the outlet: ‘Even to the point of refusing to say whether it would be done this year. They say they have a large volume of claims, and that ours has not been assigned to a reviewer.’

Air France refused to comment when contacted by the Daily Mail.

Apple AirTags are integrating with some airline companies to stop this issue from continuing.

Apple announced that 15 airlines serving millions of people globally will be able to share their AirTags locations with the airlines.

The company stated: ‘Apple has worked directly with partner airlines to put systems in place to privately and securely accept Share Item Location, leveraging the hundreds of thousands of Apple devices many airlines are already using.’

‘Access to each link will be limited to a small number of people, and recipients will be required to authenticate in order to view the link through either their Apple Account or partner email address.’

Air France’s website on their missing baggage claim page says: ‘By sharing the AirTag link, you authorize Air France to access and use the AirTag data to help locate your baggage. This data will be available by default for 7 days, and you may stop sharing it at any time.