Left it Behind? We’ve Got You Covered

It’s a familiar situation. You exit your flight, walk through the concourse and suddenly realize something is missing. Maybe it’s your keys or a scarf. Maybe you just arrived at your destination and are mentally retracing your steps, searching for your AirPods or that ring, hoping you didn’t accidentally leave them in the airport restroom. Rest assured that you are not alone.

The Charlotte Douglas International Airport (CLT) Lost & Found receives between 600 and 700 items each week. During the busy summer travel season, that number can increase to 2,000 items a week!

Lost But Not Forgotten

The most common items include eyeglasses, phones, passports, laptops, iPads, Kindles, backpacks, wallets, IDs, keys, canes, books and umbrellas. Sweaters, jackets and hats are also plentiful.

However, Lost & Found also recovers unusual items, such as false teeth, vacuum cleaners, voodoo dolls, record players, and even a few—shall we say—unmentionables. (CLT Lost & Found does not accept firearms, illegal or prohibited items, perishable goods, food or neck pillows.)

Finding Clues

Tracking down leads and organizing items takes a bit of research and some good old-fashioned detective work.

Take the “Case of the Misplaced Diploma.” CLT Lost & Found needed to contact a university’s alumni office to locate a graduate to return a framed diploma left behind at the Airport. However, a name is sometimes missing, which means looking for a business card or other identifying tags that might be tucked away in a forgotten tote bag or carry-on.

In the “Case of the Forgotten Coin,” the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) recovered a special coin in one of its screening bins and submitted it to CLT Lost & Found. It was a bronze challenge coin signifying service as an Honor Guard Sentinel at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. The coin was engraved with a first initial, a last name and a three-digit number.

“When I went through TSA in Charlotte, the bin that had all of my stuff ended up turning upside down in the X-ray machine,” said Retired U.S. Army Sergeant Chuck Austin of Arizona, who guarded the Tomb from 1976-77. “Being in a hurry to get to my gate, I overlooked the fact that I was missing the coin.”

The Lost & Found team reached out to the Society of the Honor Guard, which verified the coin, obtained an email address, and identified Austin as its grateful owner. “Thank you again for putting in the effort to find me and return one of my prized possessions,” he said. “I carry it in my left pants pocket anytime I leave the house. It’s a tradition I have honored for many years. This coin is something I could have easily replaced…but it would not have been the same.”

Meet the Team

Currently, four CLT employees and a supervisor are creating these “moments of magic,” as they call them. They are focused on reuniting owners with their belongings—whether a sentimental Tiffany & Co. bracelet or a child’s cherished toy—while gathering many other humorous and heartwarming stories along the way.

“We had grandparents come in to collect their granddaughter’s stuffed Corgi, named ‘Sharon’” said one of the team. “They took our photo along with ‘Sharon’ to send to their granddaughter so she would know ‘Sharon’ was well taken care of!”

“We had another lady come to pick up her and her husband’s passports that were left at TSA, and as soon as she left, I turned around to see she left her driver's license,” recounted another team member. “When she returned the next day to pick it up, she left her phone. So, I called the emergency contact, and it was her husband. That was the third time she had left something behind. We laughed so much at the end of her visit. Her husband and I made sure she didn’t leave anything else!”

“The Place Where the Lost Things Go”

The location where an item is lost determines its destination. For instance, items left on an aircraft, in the gate area or on a baggage carousel are the airline’s responsibility and are taken directly to their lost and found. However, if someone sees an item on a plane and turns it into CLT Lost & Found, they will accept it, assuming the passenger or customer does not know where else to take it.

CLT Lost & Found also receives items left at TSA checkpoints and parking areas, including employee lots, shuttle buses (but not rental cars), restrooms, curbside, Concourse areas, the Atrium and the Plaza Food Court. Any item found in a specific restaurant or retail store can be reported to HMS Host or Paradies Lagardère.

Items are held for 30 days. Those not claimed are donated to Goodwill, except for iPads, Laptops, and Kindles, which are held longer to allow more time to find their owners. Other items with personal details may need to be shredded, mailed back to a passport agency or disposed of safely.

Claimed recovered items can be shipped back to their owners at their expense.

How To File A Claim

The Airport’s Lost & Found office is in Baggage Claim in Zone 4 and is open seven days a week from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. You can file a claim in person or online at cltairport.com.

Or contact: CLTlostandfound@hmshost.com CLTretail@paradies-na.com