Airport security bins collect nearly $1M in a year — mostly in loose change
LAS VEGAS NV Aug 23 2020 Travelers left behind more $44,401.76 in the bins as they went through airport security in Nevada in a year.
Across the nation, TSA agents turned in nearly a million dollars — $926,030.44 — in money that was simply left behind from Oct. 1, 2018, to Sept. 30, 2019. The top five airports:*
John F. Kennedy International Airport – $98,110
San Francisco International Airport – $52,668.70
Miami International Airport – $47,694.03
McCarran International Airport – $44,401.76
Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport – $40,218.19
*–clarification from TSA: The figure for McCarran includes the money found at Reno-Tahoe International Airport and Elko Regional Airport. The figures for other airports may also include other airports in each of the states.
The unclaimed money found at TSA checkpoints is deposited into a special fund account for providing “critical aviation security programs,” according to a Friday news release from the Transportation Security Administration.
“The money consisted of loose change and paper currency that passengers removed from their pockets and left behind in a bin during the security screening process at TSA checkpoints,” the TSA news release said.
And while the amount did fall from last year, it wasn’t as much as you might expect — only about $34,000 less than the previous year.
“It is always TSA’s goal to reunite travelers with items they have left behind at checkpoints. If someone returns to the checkpoint within a short timeframe to claim an item that they left behind, it is easily returned to them,” the TSA said. “If a passenger leaves an item behind, such as a wallet, and does not realize it until after they board their flight, they can contact any of TSA’s lost and found offices at airports across the country to identify the lost item.”
