Flying is always exciting. It is not surprising that on airplanes and airports, passengers often forget very important things – documents, mobiles, laptops and much more. Can I get them back? There is a chance, but we must act actively and quickly.
Forgotten at the airport
Major airports have two rooms of unclaimed baggage, into one of which, after a security check, things forgotten on international flights are sent, to the other – from domestic and from airport terminals. Forgotten documents and money usually await their owners at the airport transport police department. As a rule, if the owner did not respond to the speakerphone message and did not return for the forgotten thing, it will be sent to the lost property office.
If you forget something at the airport, call its hotline or the baggage tracing service. If you have already found a thing you forgot and assigned a number to it, you will only have to come for it.
If the item has not yet been found, write to the airline that operated the flight, detailing what exactly and where you forgot. The more details and the more detailed the description of forgotten things, the better. Be sure to include your flight number and phone numbers where you can be contacted. At some airports, employees will ask on their website in the Lost & Found section to fill out a Lost & Found Form.
Forgotten on the plane
If you have forgotten something on the plane and have not left the airport yet, do not try to get on board. The crew may sympathize with your problem, but they have clear instructions and you will not be allowed on the plane. Contact the Lost & Found counter and tell us what you forgot and on which flight. Describe the forgotten thing in detail. If it was found during an inspection or cleaning of the cabin, and the flight attendants or employees of the cleaning company turned out to be honest employees, you can quickly get the forgotten back.
If you remembered about the loss, after returning home, contact the representatives of the air carrier, fill out a statement indicating the flight, describing in detail what was lost and leaving your contacts. You also need to call the airport hotline!
Some airports have forgotten catalogs on their websites. Check it out, you might be lucky and you will see your things on its pages.
Some passengers find a thing forgotten by someone, but hand it over not at the airport lost and found office, but at the city one. By typing lost property and the name of the city in the search engine, you may be able to find your thing in the city lost property.
Many passengers stop searching if Lost & Found does not find lost items. However, there is a chance that the flight attendants handed over what you forgot to the base airport of the plane. Find out which airport is the base for the aircraft you flew and contact their found items service.
If the thing was found
If the forgotten things are in the same city as you, you need to take your passport, boarding pass and other proof that the thing is yours (photographs, receipts, warranties, etc.), and pick up the loss.
If you are in another city or even a country and have not received an offer from an air carrier to deliver what you have found, evaluate how dear the forgotten things are, because you will have to fly for them yourself or contact an international delivery service, and this requires additional costs.
Why is it important to act quickly? Things forgotten at the airport or in the adjacent territory are stored for only a month, forgotten on airplanes – six months. After the expiration of the storage period, things are disposed of or sold.
How not to forget anything
If you follow simple tips, you can avoid losing things or return them with minimal effort and time.
– Attach tags with contacts to things that are dear to your heart, especially if you often travel or fly on business trips.
– After inspecting your carry-on baggage, make sure you remove all bags from the tape and take mobiles, keys and other small items from the bin.
– When on board the landing aircraft, make sure to take all your belongings before leaving the cabin. Check the shelves, floor, armchairs, and armchair pockets. These actions will reduce the chances of forgetting something to zero.