Melbourne man tracks down 'missing' luggage at airport using Apple AirTags

A Victorian man has used his trusty Apple AirTag to locate his missing bags at a luggage graveyard at Melbourne's Tullamarine airport.

Cyclist and IT professional Shane Miller flew home via Singapore Airlines from a week-long holiday in Europe in mid-June, only to find his check-in luggage had not made it onto the plane.

Miller's $800 bag contained over $6500 worth of cycling gear and he was determined to get it back. However, after filling out a lost luggage form with the airline, his suitcase was still nowhere to be found.

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Luckily, Miller had the foresight to attach an AirTag to his suitcase – so he decided to take matters into his own hands.

Uploading a video of his luggage hunt on YouTube, Miller revealed how he successfully located his "lost" bag at Melbourne airport.

"I arrived home with my carry-on and no check-in luggage. Apparently Singapore Airlines, who I was flying with on the return leg from Singapore to Melbourne, was unable to get the bag out of the plane to the transfer plane," Miller explained on his YouTube channel.

He was told to file a report and that "arrangements had been made to deliver the bag".

After seven days of no answers, Miller was sick of waiting. "I've had no indication whatsoever from the airline, Melbourne Airport or the baggage partner that my bag was even in Australia," he said.

In the video, he showed how his Apple AirTag was giving him a GPS signal from Melbourne Airport. At least now, Miller said, he knew the bag was in the country.

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He then decided to drive back to Tullamarine Airport to track down his missing luggage.

After speaking to staff, Miller eventually located the Swissport office. From there, he was escorted to a room full of lost or misplaced luggage.

"It's connected, it's definitely within a few metres," Miller told a Swissport employee, as his phone began to alert him of the suitcase's proximity.

Miller then finally found his suitcase in the corner of the room, surrounded by dozens of other bags.

He gratefully thanked the woman in the office and took his luggage home – a week after he disembarked the plane from Europe.

In his YouTube video, Miller expressed his concern at the sheer amount of missing bags he witnessed in the Swissport office.

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"I'm only one per cent of the story of the bags that I saw on the floor," Miller said.

"I just know there's other people missing their baggage as well who don't have AirTags, so they're going to be in the dark."

He also told followers it was not ideal that he was forced to trek all the way back to the airport and GPS track the missing luggage in order to have his belongings returned.

Miller then criticised Singapore Airlines for their lack of "follow up" and "duty of responsibility" to passengers.

"At the end of the day, I tried every avenue," he said. "It is what it is."