This Is What Happens to the Items You Leave at Airport Security-and Where They End Up

"Every day, a steady stream of items gets left behind at Transportation Security Administration checkpoints in airports across the world, from pocket knives to headphones to peanut butter and oversized bottles of perfume. Where do these items go once you leave them behind? One of three places: the trash, the lost and found, or state-run auctions. It all depends on whether you forgot the item or voluntarily abandoned the item."

"If you accidentally leave behind a non-prohibited item like headphones or a phone charger, TSA makes every effort to reunite you with it. In fact, you may have even heard announcements made on the loudspeaker at the airport. "Lost and found items are retained by TSA for a minimum of 30 days," a TSA spokesperson said to Travel + Leisure. After that window, if the items go unclaimed, they may be destroyed, turned over to state surplus agencies, or sold as excess property."

""Transportation Security Officers at airport checkpoints do not confiscate prohibited items," a TSA spokesperson said. "Passengers have a choice when they present at a checkpoint with a prohibited item." These are the choices that travelers have at TSA checkpoints when carrying a prohibited item: Hand the item to a family member or friend who is not traveling and can keep it safe for you. Return it to your vehicle. Go to the airline ticket counter to put it into your checked baggage."

Items left at Transportation Security Administration checkpoints fall into three outcomes: trash, lost and found retention, or state-run auctions and surplus sales. Non-prohibited forgotten items like headphones or chargers are retained for a minimum of 30 days and airport announcements may help reunite owners. Unclaimed items after 30 days may be destroyed, transferred to state surplus agencies, or sold as excess property. Prohibited items voluntarily surrendered at checkpoints do not receive a 30-day grace period. Travelers carrying prohibited items may hand them to a non-traveling person, return them to a vehicle, check them at the ticket counter, or abandon them.

Read at Travel + Leisure