T.S.A. Collected Over $760,000 in Unclaimed Cash at Airports in 2015

DaytonaRacer

Sr. Member
May 21, 2013
486
222
NJ
Detector(s) used
BH Tracker IV,
Fisher F22,
Garrett Pro Pointer
Primary Interest:
Other
From the NYTimes :

Embracing the concept of ā€œkeep the change,ā€ the Transportation Security Administration said it collected more than $760,000 in unclaimed cash ā€” mostly loose coins ā€” from travelers who had forgotten the money after passing through airport security in the 2015 fiscal year.

The agency said it ā€œmakes every effort to reunite passengers with items left at the checkpoint,ā€ but at times property or loose change go unclaimed. The coins, for instance, were left behind when passengers emptied their pockets before going through metal detectors.

Money from other countries collected over the fiscal year, which ended Sept. 30, made up more than $9,200, which was converted to American currency, according to a T.S.A. report in March.

What will the agency do with the money? In 2005, Congress gave the T.S.A. the authority to use unclaimed money on security operations.

The money came from 114 so-called hub airports, central airports where flights are routed through. Airports that host so-called spokes ā€” the routes that planes take out of the hubs ā€” deposited unclaimed money to their respective hub airport.

In the New York metropolitan area, Kennedy International Airport reported the highest total of unclaimed funds: $43,715.81. La Guardia Airport reported $23,413.61, and Newark Liberty International Airport raked in $12,846.78.

The lowest amount collected at a hub airport was $1.99, at the Pago Pago International Airport in American Samoa, according to the T.S.A. figures.

USA Today, which reported on the unclaimed money, noted that some airports had installed kiosks for passengers to deposit spare change for charitable causes. Denver International Airport collects money for a program to help homeless people, and Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport accepts donations to support a United Service Organizationsā€™ program for members of the military and their families.

John Dedell, a video conferencing designer from Safety Harbor, Fla., said he flies about once a month for business and keeps his loose change in a backpack for safekeeping.

ā€œIt really does not surprise me that people leave loose change behind,ā€ he said in an email. ā€œPeople seem to leave all kinds of things, and I donā€™t think there has ever been a trip that I didnā€™t hear ā€˜Will the person who left ... come back to T.S.A. to retrieve it.ā€™ ā€

A combination of fewer T.S.A. screeners, tighter budgets, new checkpoint procedures and more passengers has already created long lines at airports around the country. Money left unclaimed has nearly doubled, to $765,759.15 in the 2015 fiscal year from $383,413.79 in the 2008 fiscal year, the T.S.A. report showed. The sum has increased every year except for one since 2008.

Look for more loose change to be left behind this summer as air travel reaches its peak. Officials warn of extraordinarily long waits to get through security, which might mean more anxious passengers dashing for their gates and forgetting to pick up their money.
 

SusanMN

Silver Member
Jun 1, 2007
4,534
4,098
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Detector(s) used
Tiger Shark, Xterra 705, Makro Legend
Primary Interest:
All Treasure Hunting
The lesson being, put everything in your carry on before you get to security rather than pulling it out of your pocket and setting it out separately. The fewer items you have to pay attention to the less likely you will forget something, and the less interest thieves might have in your stuff. Even tablets, unlike computers, can stay in carry on bags.
 

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