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Left Your iPad at the Gate? How to Use Airport Lost and Found

April 7, 2010 at 8:38 AM | by | Comments (0)

We’ve all experienced that awful moment in one way or another. That rush of adrenaline just solidifies your worst nightmare—you’ve left some kind of electronic gadget back at the gate. Now it’s so very clear, you left your new iPad plugged into the wall for a quick charge before take-off and now it’s too late. Well there’s always hope that some nice passenger will get it back to you thanks to airport lost and found. We’ve done a little detective work to help out in case of an electronic emergency, but let’s be honest, if it really was an iPad it’s probably gone for good.

Pretty much all the major airports around the country have some sort of lost and found office, but the availability of their operations varies widely. For example the office at Charlotte Douglas International Airport is only open from noon until 2pm, and after that your goodies become property of the city of Charlotte—we guess that’s better than nothing. We’ll remember to hold onto our stuff extra tightly when headed through Charlotte, especially if we’re on US Airways—they’re already on our list.

On the other hand airports like Detroit Metropolitan Airport and Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport have pretty elaborate lost and found websites. Access the site and you’ll easily be able to enter a claim. The airport wants as many details as possible, so if you have an embarrassing engraving on the back of your iPod be sure to specify that your dog wished you a Merry Christmas in 2007. Both airports won’t contact you if they don’t find anything, but we get the feeling that they’ll try a little bit harder than some other airports. We also like the idea of instantly getting a tracking number for a claim—it just feels a little more official than someone scribbling our information on a sticky note.

Airports want to know where you lost your stuff, because if it was right by the gate some want you to check with the airline. Denver International Airport seems to prefer that you contact the airline directly, but they do have a lost and found office for things left behind at security, restaurants, or the bathroom. Although some airports appear to be a little more equipped to handle lost stuff, at least all the airports we looked at had least a phone number to call. Remember to be nice and to hope for the best.

Here’s a roundup of what we found at ten major airports around the country, and hopefully they'll get your stuff back ASAP.

· O'Hare and Midway - Lost and Found
· Detroit Metro - Lost and Found Information
· Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport - FoundIt!
· Los Angeles World Airports - Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport
· San Francisco International Airport - FAQs
· MASSPORT - Logan Airport - FAQ
· Charlotte Douglas International Airport - Lost and Found
· Denver International Airport - About
· Minneapolis - St. Paul International Airport - FAQs
· JFK, LaGuardia, Newark, Stewart, and Teterboro - Port Authority Police Lost & Found

Related Stories:
· The Top Five Airports for Traveling with Children [Jaunted]
· Dancing at the Airport? Only in San Diego. [Jaunted]
· Airports coverage [Jaunted]

[Photo of an empty gate: Staelou & Photo of a possibly forgotten iPod: D.L.]

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