Help! I Left Something on the Plane or at TSA. How Do I Get It Back?

24.05.2024 - 15:49 / afar.com / John F.Kennedy / Lisa Farbstein

With your carry-on luggage stored properly in the overhead bin, you settle into your seat and prepare to zone out for the next couple of hours by catching up on the last season of Curb Your Enthusiasm. But wait a second. Your earbuds … they’re not in your backpack where you are positive you placed them before leaving for the airport. Did you leave them in a tray when you went through the security line? Will you ever see them again?

Whether you absentmindedly leave your iPad in the seat back pocket or your wristwatch in the tray at the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) checkpoint, losing items in transit is a terrible feeling.

Yet there’s no reason to admit defeat. The airlines and TSA are eager to help reunite you with your lost belongings. In fact, TSA estimates it recovers close to 100,000 lost items each year.

Few people would say they relish going through the security checkpoint at the airport. After removing your shoes and belt, taking your laptop out of its protective sleeve and securing a separate bin for your electronics (for those who don’t have TSA PreCheck), and making sure you’ve finished the last drop of water in your reusable water bottle, it’s always a bit of a relief to make it through the TSA screening process.

But before you can relax in the lounge or belly up to the bar for a Bloody Mary, you have to pack up all your things, checking to see you have your passport and any stray items that might have fallen out as the bin moved through the conveyor belt.

If you arrive at your gate and realize you left something at the security checkpoint, and you have time before boarding ends (a point for the argument on getting to the airport early), you should return to the checkpoint and request to speak with a supervisor, says Lisa Farbstein, a spokesperson for the TSA. “If the item has been found, it can easily be returned.”

If, however, you don’t realize you’re missing something until after the wheels are up, Farbstein says the best thing to do is reach out to TSA by going to the website’s Lost and Found page. Here, you’ll be prompted to enter the name of the airport or airport code. Depending on the airport, there may be a telephone number to call or an online form to fill out.

For items left behind at New York’s John F. Kennedy International Airport, one of the country’s busiest airports, you’ll need to fill out a form, including the date and approximate time the item was lost and a description of it. The more detailed, the better, says Farbstein. If it’s a cell phone, tablet, or laptop, you’ll want to provide the make and model and any distinctive traits such as the color, a description of the case, and even the lock-screen photo.

If you forget something on the airplane, you