One of the more common questions we receive from pet owners is: “Can I put an Apple AirTag in my pet’s travel crate? Can I attach a GPS tracker so I know where my pet is? Can I leave a GoPro recording during the flight?”
It’s an understandable question. Handing your pet over at the airport can be one of the most stressful parts of an international move, and naturally many owners want some way of knowing where their pet is throughout the journey. The answer, however, is more complicated than simply buying a tracker and attaching it to the crate.
There Are Two Types of Devices
When people ask about “trackers,” they’re usually referring to one of two categories: location trackers — Bluetooth trackers, GPS trackers, and other devices designed to report a shipment’s location — and cameras, such as GoPros or other action cameras that record video throughout the journey. Although these devices serve different purposes, they share one important characteristic: they contain batteries. That single fact often determines whether they’ll be permitted to travel.
IATA’s Live Animals Regulations address this directly: shippers are advised to remove collars, harnesses, and electronic GPS trackers from the animal before crating, and if a GPS tracker or other recording equipment is used, it must fully comply with the IATA Dangerous Goods Regulations and be declared to the operator. That declaration requirement is exactly why this isn’t a decision a pet owner can make alone.
Why Airlines Are Cautious About Electronic Devices
The aviation industry takes battery safety extremely seriously. Lithium batteries have been responsible for several well-publicized cargo fires over the years, which is why airlines carefully control what battery-powered devices may travel onboard an aircraft. While some small battery-powered devices may fall within airline or dangerous-goods exemptions, the decision is not made by the pet owner — it’s made by the airline and the airport screening staff responsible for accepting the shipment. This means there is no universal answer that guarantees your particular tracker will always be accepted.
The Screener Has the Final Say
One of the realities of international pet shipping is that the airport screener has the authority to determine whether a shipment is accepted. If the screener asks whether there are any electronic devices inside the travel crate, we answer honestly — in fact, before we take your pet to the airport, we’ll often ask whether you’ve placed any tracking devices inside the crate so we can accurately declare them if asked. Attempting to hide a device is never a good idea. If the screener decides that the tracker must be removed before acceptance, then it must be removed. Our responsibility is to work with the screening process, not against it.
“But I Found an Approved Tracker…”
While researching this topic, we found that some airlines, including Air France-KLM Cargo, publish lists of active tracking devices that have been evaluated and cleared for cargo shipments. At first glance, this sounds like the perfect solution. Unfortunately, it isn’t quite that simple: nearly every tracker on these approved lists is designed for commercial logistics, pharmaceutical shipments, cold-chain monitoring, or other industrial supply-chain applications. They are generally not products the average pet owner can easily purchase from a typical online retailer. Some require business accounts, subscription services, or dedicated gateway infrastructure to operate — the tracker is only as effective as the supporting network around it, which makes these commercial tracking solutions very different from consumer GPS trackers that rely on cellular or Bluetooth-to-phone connections. (Air France-KLM Cargo publishes its current list on its active tracking devices page, if you want to see what “approved” actually means in practice.)
Even Approved Devices May Not Solve the Problem
Suppose you somehow obtain one of these approved commercial trackers — that still doesn’t necessarily mean your pet will travel with it. Airport screening personnel work from airline procedures, dangerous-goods guidance, and the information available to them at the time, and GPS tracking devices inside pet travel crates remain relatively uncommon. If there’s uncertainty about whether a particular device is acceptable, the safest operational decision may simply be to remove it. Even when a pet transport agent is familiar with approved devices or airline policies, the screener is ultimately responsible for deciding whether the shipment proceeds.
Why We May Recommend Removing the Tracker
People are sometimes surprised when we say this. Our job isn’t to win every argument at the airport — it’s to get your pet safely onto the aircraft. Whenever possible, we’ll advocate for our clients and explain airline procedures if clarification is needed. But there are situations where continuing an argument simply isn’t in your pet’s best interests. If insisting on keeping a GPS tracker inside the crate risks delaying acceptance, escalating the matter to supervisors, or potentially causing your pet to miss the scheduled flight, we may recommend removing the device instead. That isn’t because the tracker is necessarily unsafe — it’s because our priority is ensuring your pet travels safely and on schedule. Sometimes the smoothest path is also the best one.
Are Consumer GPS Trackers Actually Useful?
Even if your tracker is accepted, it may not provide the information you’re hoping for. Many consumer tracking devices rely on nearby phones or other devices to update their location, and during a flight those opportunities are often very limited. As a result, owners frequently see location updates before departure, during transit while the crate is being handled in the terminal, and after arrival — with little or no useful location information while the aircraft is actually in the air. For many owners, this ends up providing information that isn’t significantly different from following the shipment’s air waybill through the airline’s cargo tracking system.
What About GoPros and Other Cameras?
Cameras present many of the same challenges. Like GPS trackers, they contain batteries that may not be accepted, and they introduce several practical problems of their own. Most action cameras cannot record continuously for the entire duration of an international pet journey, which may easily exceed 12 to 24 hours once airport processing, loading, customs clearance, and delivery are included. Even if recording were permitted, much of the footage would likely consist of the inside of a dark travel crate. And just like GPS devices, the airline may decide the camera must be removed before the shipment is accepted.
Our Recommendation
If you’re considering placing any electronic device inside your pet’s travel crate, discuss it with your pet transport company before travel. If the airline allows it, that’s excellent. If the airport screener asks for it to be removed, it’s usually best to comply. The objective isn’t proving that a tracker should be allowed — it’s ensuring your pet boards the aircraft safely and without unnecessary complications.
Final Thoughts
Technology continues to improve, and specialized shipment-tracking devices certainly exist. However, today’s commercially available solutions are largely designed for industrial logistics rather than individual pet owners. Until consumer products become more practical and more widely accepted by airlines, the most important factors in your pet’s journey remain proper planning, correct documentation, an airline-compliant travel crate, and experienced handling throughout the transport process. Those are still the things that contribute most to a safe and successful journey.
Related reading: 2026 Pet Air Travel Reality Check
Planning a move with your pet? Get a free quote from Transcon Pet Movers and we will tell you exactly what your airline allows on your route before you buy anything.