Is there a process? TSA makes every effort to reunite passengers with items left behind at the airport checkpoint. Lost and found items retained by TSA for a minimum of thirty (30) days, and if not claimed, are either destroyed, turned over to a state agency for surplus property, or sold by TSA as excess property.

Airports follow a structured "90-day" protocol for lost and found items. For the first 30 to 90 days, items are stored in a secure warehouse (often 5,000+ square feet) where staff attempt to match them with claims. Electronics like laptops and phones have their data-storage components (hard drives) removed and professionally destroyed after 30 days to protect passenger privacy. If an item remains unclaimed after the 90-day mark, it is typically donated to charity or sold at public auction. These auctions are often high-value events where items are sold in bulk lots, with the proceeds going to the airport authority's general fund or state treasury. In the U.S., some of this money even goes toward paying down the national debt. For "valueless" or hazardous items, the airport will simply destroy them. Interestingly, only about 15-20% of lost items are ever reunited with their owners, making proactive labeling of your property a high-value habit for 2026 travelers.