Filmmaker Errol Webber uses AirTag to track down luggage missing from United Airlines flight

A filmmaker claims to have tracked down around $US200 ($A314) in stolen camera equipment belonging to him on the other side of the country using his Apple AirTag.

Los Angeles film producer Errol Webber said the items went missing in transit while flying with United Airlines from Anchorage to Denver on October 29.

Webber vented his frustration to the airline in a now-viral Twitter post, asking why his luggage contents are appearing at an unknown address in Alaska – and if the alleged thief will be returning his equipment.

On Tuesday, Webber shared screenshots to Twitter from Apple's FindMy app, which had tracked his missing items to a residential address around 8km from the airport.

In the tweet, Webber accuses the airline's staff of foul play.

"Hey @united, one of your employees at Anchorage Airport rummaged through my luggage and took some film equipment home with them," Webber begins.

The award-winning filmmaker also published the address of the alleged thief to his 200,000 Twitter followers.

"They inadvertently took my Apple AirTag that I had hidden. Can you tell your employee who lives at: [redacted] to give me my stuff back?"

Webber later recalled some equipment cases were returned to him unzipped. He didn't think anything of it until the next time he needed the equipment.

"I pulled out my phone and started tracking my [missing] luggage, and sure enough, the Find My app on my phone told me that one of my four AirTags was still in Alaska, embedded in one of the items that was taken out of my bag," Webber wrote, in a subsequent tweet.

While it isn't clear who took the equipment or if they work for the airline, United has contacted Webber to say the incident is under investigation, and that the address doesn't belong to any of their Anchorage employees.

In the US, checked luggage is handled by a number of ground workers from different departments before it reaches the aircraft.

Webber tells Traveller he'll be seeking reimbursement from United for the lost equipment. As of Thursday, the AirTag's street location has remained the same, although it has drifted to a few different addresses since his initial post.

The incident comes amid a spate of AirTag success stories, as travellers increasingly turn to luggage tracking devices to find their lost possessions.

In August, AirTags helped authorities track more than US$16,000 ($A22,800) worth of stolen luggage items to an airline subcontractor's house, according to Florida police.

In the month prior, a Victorian man went viral for chronicling his lost luggage journey on YouTube. Shane Miller used the tech to track down his more-than-$6000 worth of missing cycling equipment to baggage handling company Swissport's Melbourne offices.

Despite the tracker's popularity among travellers, Air New Zealand this week announced they would be reviewing its guidelines around tracking devices in checked luggage in early 2023. The airline's rules currently state only battery-powered trackers that can be switched off will be accepted in checked baggage.