Lost Something at TSA Checkpoint? Here’s How to Get It Back!

Posted in At the Terminal, Domestic US

Everybody loves TSA Security Checkpoints. They’re fast, efficient, non-invasive — wait a second. I’m thinking of KFC. Sorry about that. TSA checkpoints are terrible. They’re full of blue-shirted authority figures yelling at shoeless clusters of travelers forced to prove that they’re not terrorists. Unless you have TSA Pre-Check (and you should! It’s awesome!) and get to breeze right through the checkpoint, you’re forced to lay your soul — I mean suitcase — bare and, in the hurry to get to your gate, you may occasionally leave something behind.

Luckily, Mary Forgione over at the LA Times has a great article on how to get that lost laptop back in your possession thanks to these tips directly from the TSA:

–Tape a business card to your laptop or cellphone.

–Keep small items like watches and keys in your carry-on bag. The little bowls provided at checkpoints should be used for loose change, not valuables.

–Pack jewelry in your carry-on and don’t wear it until you’ve passed through security.

–Report stolen items right away.

–Listen for airport announcements that may describe an item left behind.

–Lastly, report the lost item.

–Contact the TSA’s lost-and-found office if you think you left something at a security checkpoint.

Here’s a list of TSA Lost & Found offices: http://www.tsa.gov/traveler-information/airport-lost-found-contacts

These tips are pretty much common sense, but the best tip of all has gone unsaid: don’t rush through the security checkpoint. Keep a mental tally of everything you put on the conveyor belt and then do an inventory once you collect your items. If you’re in a hurry, you have a much greater chance of leaving something behind.

 

Source: LA Times

Photo:

Attribution Some rights reserved by jurvetson [photo has been cropped]

Comments

  1. I lost iPhone 6 gold colour(with gold cover) lock position.if open it will show lost & contact tel.
    Lost in Singapore changi airport terminal 3 ,boarding gate B9 ,on date 6 April 2017 SQ 866 forget to pick up after passing X ray check.or on seat place

  2. There should be a way to communicate with a human being in these situations. Having my iPad taken out by a TSA agent at the security checkpoint in Orlando, and then not placed back in my bag, is upsetting enough. But the only option is to fill out an impersonal online form, with auto-response that tells me they will contact me. That is frustrating, and for the past three days I’m having difficulty sleeping and coming to terms with the fact that somewhere in Orlando, my iPad is sitting in a pile of unclaimed items (if not stolen by a TSA agent), and every day that goes by it will become harder and harder for them to figure out who it belongs to. I hate that our society today finds more and more ways to disconnect people. An airport should have someone you can speak to and describe the situation. I remember the exact location and time of day – talking to someone who has access to their cameras would surely be helpful and productive.

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