{"id":400867,"date":"2026-01-09T00:51:15","date_gmt":"2026-01-09T00:51:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/400867\/"},"modified":"2026-01-09T00:51:15","modified_gmt":"2026-01-09T00:51:15","slug":"airport-lost-luggage-auctions-raise-thousands-of-dollars-for-charity-every-year","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/400867\/","title":{"rendered":"Airport lost luggage auctions raise thousands of dollars for charity every year"},"content":{"rendered":"

As Australians hit the skies for the summer holidays, airports are preparing for more than just long queues and crowded terminals.<\/p>\n

They are also gearing up for a surge in lost and forgotten luggage.<\/p>\n

Every year, tens of thousands of items are abandoned at airports \u2014 from laptops and surfboards to jewellery and even prosthetic legs.<\/p>\n

Brisbane, Sydney and Melbourne airports regularly auction off unclaimed property, with hundreds of items going under the hammer each year and thousands of dollars raised for charity.<\/p>\n

\"A<\/p>\n

Brisbane airport spokesperson Peter Doherty says travellers fall victim to “airport brain”. (ABC News: Mary Lloyd)<\/p>\n

“Even the most organised travellers fall victim to what we call ‘airport brain,'” Brisbane Airport spokesperson Peter Doherty said.<\/p>\n

“When you’re juggling passports, boarding passes, and family plans, it’s easy to leave something behind or decide to leave a bag that is too heavy for carry-on.”<\/p>\n

Brisbane Airport recently held one of its biggest lost property auctions, with hundreds of items up for bidding online, including a Bulgari 18-carat gold diamond necklace valued at $11,000 that started with a reserve of just $1.<\/p>\n

\"A<\/p>\n

The bidding for this Bulgari necklace started at just $1. (Supplied: Brisbane Airport)<\/p>\n

Other items included laptops, tablets, drones, cameras, boogie boards, surfboards, scooters, musical instruments, fitness equipment, prams, sewing machines and vacuum cleaners.<\/p>\n

Sydney Airport’s annual lost property auction raised more than $250,000 for charity in 2025.<\/p>\n

Melbourne Airport auctions about 1,000 items each month, generating tens of thousands of dollars a year for local community groups.<\/p>\n

\"A<\/p>\n

A lone blender at the Sydney Airport is just one of 7,000 items left behind at the airport each year. (ABC News: Mary Lloyd)<\/p>\n

Mr Doherty said luggage and size restrictions played a big role in abandoned items.<\/p>\n

“Travellers often realise their bags are overweight, so they leave behind that set of golf clubs, computer monitor or surfboard,” he said.<\/p>\n

How Australia’s busiest airport handles lost and forgotten Items<\/p>\n

Sydney Airport sees more than 40 million passengers each year, with about 120,000 people passing through daily.<\/p>\n

Hundreds of items are handed to the airport’s dedicated team of five lost property workers every day, ranging from wedding dresses and air fryers to vacuum cleaners, CPAP machines and adult toys.<\/p>\n

Sydney Airport spokeswoman Liz Seatter said more than 7,000 items were returned to their owners last year.<\/p>\n

\"A<\/p>\n

All goods are catalogued, entered into a database, and stored securely. (ABC News: Mary Lloyd)<\/p>\n

She said the airport only managed items left in the terminal, not on planes. All goods are catalogued, entered into a database, and stored securely, she said.<\/p>\n

“The team takes so much care. A woman lost a necklace that belonged to her daughter \u2014 she wanted to take a piece of her daughter with her overseas. The team searched, and a few days later it was handed in and returned to her,” Ms Seatter said.<\/p>\n

“Another woman lost a single costume-jewellery earring that was important to her, and the team managed to find that too.”<\/p>\n

\"Two<\/p>\n

Lynee Truong and Maree Foley are one of five Sydney Airport employees that work to reunite travellers with their lost goods. (ABC News: Mary Lloyd)<\/p>\n

Travellers feel the cost<\/p>\n

Last year, Leigh Richards left his iPad on a plane after landing at Sydney Airport.<\/p>\n

“It was one of the first times I was travelling alone with my daughter, who was about five at the time, and we were on a red-eye flight. Everything happened in a bit of a blur \u2014 we got off the plane, packed up, and gathered all of Nora’s things that she’d scattered around the seats,” Mr Richards said.<\/p>\n

\"A<\/p>\n

Leigh Richards left his iPad on a plane, and wasn’t able to recover it. (ABC News: Mary Lloyd)<\/p>\n

It was several days later before he realised his iPad was missing. Using the Find My app, he tracked it to Sydney Airport’s domestic terminal.<\/p>\n

“I showed them the map, and they told me it was in one of the airport hangars. I couldn’t get airside to check it myself, and they couldn’t send anyone to retrieve it, so I was stuck,” he said.<\/p>\n

“It was frustrating. It was a valuable piece of equipment, and there should have been a better system to track it. I checked back occasionally to see if it had been found or auctioned, but as far as I know, it never turned up.”<\/p>\n

\"A<\/p>\n

A pile of multiple Airpods at the Brisbane Airport auction. (Supplied: Lloyds)<\/p>\n

The global cost of lost luggage<\/p>\n

Mishandled baggage is more than just a quirky holiday problem \u2014 it costs airlines billions each year.<\/p>\n

Global IT provider SITA estimates mishandled luggage costs carriers about $5 billion annually.<\/p>\n

While two-thirds of bags are returned within 48 hours, millions of items remain unclaimed worldwide.<\/p>\n

In the United States, retail store Unclaimed Baggage has turned abandoned airline luggage into a business. Items left unclaimed after a 90-day search are cleaned, repaired, and sold.<\/p>\n

Some of these items include a toilet seat, a freeze-dried chicken foot, and a diamond ring valued at about $60,000.<\/p>\n

\"A<\/p>\n

Unclaimed Baggage is the United States’ only retail shop for lost goods. (Supplied: Unclaimed Baggage)<\/p>\n

“Left-behind luggage gives us a snapshot of passengers’ lives,” Unclaimed Baggage spokeswoman Sonni Hood said.<\/p>\n

“It connects those snapshots into a bigger picture, capturing unique insights into how we move, what we value most, and how packing habits evolve over time.”<\/p>\n

How to recover lost luggage<\/p>\n

If you leave something behind in a terminal, car park or express pick-up area, contact the airport’s lost property office as soon as possible.<\/p>\n

Items left on board a plane are usually handled by the airline.<\/p>\n

Providing clear details \u2014 including a description, when and where it was lost, and photos \u2014 can speed up recovery.<\/p>\n

\"A<\/p>\n

A table full of gold and silver rings left behind at the Brisbane Airport. (Supplied: Lloyds)<\/p>\n

Tips to avoid losing your luggage:Use baggage tracking technology, such as RFID tags or personal trackers like AirTagsClearly label your luggage inside and out with contact detailsPhotograph your bag and valuablesRemove old airline stickers to prevent confusionArrive early to reduce stress and avoid “airport brain”Keep valuables in your carry-on<\/p>\n

Consumer advocacy group Choice also recommends checking travel insurance carefully and never leaving items unattended, as insurers may not cover unattended losses.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"As Australians hit the skies for the summer holidays, airports are preparing for more than just long queues…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":400868,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[213178,64,2728,63,86233,99,213176,213179,213177,66789,4497],"class_list":["post-400867","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-business","tag-airport-auction","tag-au","tag-auction","tag-australia","tag-brisbane-airport","tag-business","tag-lost-luggage","tag-lost-luggage-australia","tag-lost-property","tag-melbourne-airport","tag-sydney-airport"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/400867","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=400867"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/400867\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/400868"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=400867"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=400867"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=400867"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}