Lost items in US airports?

January 13, 2023 4:22 AM

Does anybody have any experience of recovering lost property from US airports? To my dismay I managed to leave a tote bag containing (amongst other things) my favourite jumper at what I think is Customs during a tight transit at Washington Dulles airport a couple of days ago.

We were accosted by a dog and handler whilst in the baggage reclaim area and had food items on us so they asked to check our bags. Since we had about 30 minutes before our connecting flight left I forgot to pick up the bag, and didn't realise until we were going through security again by which time we were much too far away to do anything about it. My first thought is that as the bag happened to contain a couple of bananas the staff may have just thrown away the whole bag (surely not?) instead of handing it over to lost property.

I obviously completed the form for lost property at Dulles airport as soon as we landed at our destination, but any stories of recovered property would be heartening! I also presume that this checkpoint wasn't a TSA security checkpoint, which has a different lost property form to complete, but I'm unfamiliar with US airport jargon so any correction on this point would be welcome. I don't think there's much more I can do, is there? They replied within hours saying that it hadn't been handed in yet so I'm not feeing hopeful. Even if it does get handed in to lost property, how would they get it back to me in the UK?

posted by katie_w to Travel & Transportation (6 answers total)

If you were in the baggage claim area after having arrived from an international flight, then you're right that the next checkpoint you had to pass through was a Customs checkpoint, which is run by US CBP (Customs and Border Protection).

The standard sequence of connecting from an international flight arriving in the US to any onward flight is:

Land > proceed through immigration/passport control where they check documents > pick up bags if necessary at baggage claim > proceed through Customs > drop off bags on recheck belt if necessary > clear TSA security > proceed to new gate

(Different procedure if you arrive from an airport with preclearance, e.g. most Canadian airports, but you'd know this as it looks quite different, i.e. you do all US border formalities before actually arriving in the US.)

I am frankly not very optimistic that you will get your bag sent to you at all, as this isn't a case of lost checked luggage (in which the airline would be required to get it to you), but hopefully others have more positive experiences!
posted by andrewesque at 4:43 AM on January 13, 2023

I retrieved a lost wallet containing identification (driver's license, credit card, etc.) that was left at a gate. I filled out the lost item reports for the airline (in case it was turned in to the gate attendant) and the airport. I called and talked to someone (!) who was very helpful (!!) (Denver airport) who explained that lost items are collected at various points then, eventually, transferred to a central location and then, eventually, logged. After 30 days, I received a notice that the item had not been found and the claim closed. Then, almost immediately, I received another notice that the item was found (I suspect the automatic 30 day closing triggered a review of some kind which maybe doesn't happen automatically). I was contacted to provide payment for the wallet to be shipped to my address.

While this all worked out for me, the matching of the claim to the wallet was facilitated by the ID. While I was very impressed at how this worked out, I am not as confident that a random bag with a jumper will be matched to the claim but it is worth a try.

I would fill out the form for any other entities if there is a separate form for TSA or customs.

Good luck!
posted by RoadScholar at 5:22 AM on January 13, 2023

Here's a story from about thirty years ago. A friend was returning to New York City after having taken a trip to the Caribbean, and the airline lost his luggage. For several days afterward, he kept calling the airline to inquire about the bag, and each time he was told that the bag hadn't been found yet. After three or four days, my friend decided to drive to JFK and talk to someone in person. When he was talking to the airline clerk, my friend noticed that there was a room behind the counter, and the room was filled with lost luggage. The clerk insisted that the room had already been searched several times, and the bag wasn't in there. My friend begged to be allowed to go in and look for himself. Surprisingly, the clerk agreed to let him in. My friend entered the room and very quickly found his suitcase.

Given the drastic increases in airport security, I doubt that this scenario would play out this way today, but the moral of the story is that you can't trust the airline employees.
posted by alex1965 at 6:38 AM on January 13, 2023

My partner once left a laptop at the security check. He did the paperwork as soon as he got to his destination a couple hours later and got the same answer you did. It hadn't been turned in yet. Which made us think it wasn't likely to be recovered. What we found out l later is all the left items are turned in at the end of the day. He was able to pick his laptop up after his trip. All in all it was pretty easy.

I don't remember how long it took to hear from the airport but it think it was a couple of days.
posted by CleverClover at 7:04 AM on January 13, 2023

The problem here is that bags (apparently) abandoned at a customs checkpoint are likely to be treated as suspicious, which probably complicates the lost-luggage problem. I would contact your airline for advice. It may or may not have ended up with them (was there ID on the bag?), but you won't be the first person this has happened to. You can also contact CBP.
posted by praemunire at 10:49 AM on January 13, 2023

Not everyone in the US is familiar with British English, so it might help to use US terms when describing what you have lost.

I think a "jumper" might be a garment that in the US is called a sweater? A sweater is a garment knit from yarn that covers the torso and arms.

It's possible the bag made it to lost property bananas and all, I hope you are able to find it soon enough the bananas haven't affected the sweater too much. Good luck!
posted by yohko at 3:00 PM on January 13, 2023