The airports usually give constant advice not to leave your luggage unattended. However, hundreds of bags are annually lost in airports. In one year only, according to the U.S. Department of Transportation, the airports mishandle 3.39 out of every 1,000 bags. These bags are either delayed, lost, stolen or damaged. The number of people who lose/forget their luggage or other items inside the airport is much bigger!
Airports pick up the unattended luggage in their facilities and usually spend a lot of effort to contact the owners and send their possessions back. They even check inside the bags for clues of ownership. The unclaimed luggage is kept around the terminal where it was lost for around 5 days, and if the owner has not appeared, it gets shipped to a central warehouse of the airport. The baggage remains in the warehouse for about 60 more days, just in case the owner is found. If not, the carriers sell the items or donate them to charity organizations.
Where do airports sell unclaimed luggage?
Unclaimed Baggage Center, in Alabama, is the only store in the US that buys and sells unclaimed baggage from airlines. Over seven thousand of items arrive at their store each day and one never knows what to expect, which is why it`s become a huge tourist attraction! Around 60% of the items in unclaimed bags are clothes. Considering that one usually packs their best clothes for the trip, most of the items found are really good clothes, sometimes designer, clothes! Other items include electronics, music instruments, artwork, jewelry (yes! diamond rings hidden in socks!) and many others.
People actually fly to Alabama just to root over somebody`s lost luggage! All the clothing items found in luggage are dry cleaned by the workers before being put up for sale, the fine jewelry is appraised and electronics are tested and cleaned of personal data! And their prices are 20-80% off retail!!
The center sells, donates or dumps items in the trash after carefully examining each of them. Next time you lose something in the airport, do not be surprised to see it in a photo on Instagram with the hashtag #unclaimedbaggage !
