In 2023, Brussels Airport witnessed a total of 22.2 million passengers, as the airport’s recent data revealed.
According to the same source, 21,230 items were abandoned in 2023, scattered through bins at security checkpoints and various corners of the airport.
However, only 21 per cent of these items managed to find their way to their owners, while the other items remained unclaimed and unreported as lost.
With millions of passengers at the airport every year, things are sometimes forgotten during the journey through the airport. Baggage with a baggage label is always followed up by the airline or handling agent and can be collected there, but any other items forgotten at the airport end up at Brussels Airport’s Lost & Found team.
As the airport explains, every discovered item, be it a key, belt, backpack, or jewellery, is subject to a thorough record and stored for a period of up to six months.
The data for 2023 reflects a total of 21,230 distinct objects, spanning a diverse range from electronics such as laptops, phones, and tablets to various articles of clothing, particularly belts and essential ID cards and passports. The recovery rate is 21 per cent, mainly involving laptops, untagged hand luggage, ID cards/passports, clothing, jewellery, and phones.
Brussels Airport has also highlighted to all passengers the ease of reporting lost items via their website. The dedicated Lost & Found team enjoys facilitating the reunification of passengers with their misplaced belongings, ensuring their safekeeping for the specified six-month period.
Moreover, unclaimed items at Brussels Airport find significant avenues for contribution. An important example is donating all liquids, including unopened beverage containers, food, and personal care products, to local PCSWs and other non-profit organisations.
This extends beyond non-placed items to include containers exceeding 100ml that are restricted by past security screening. As a result, the airport donated 34,760 kilograms of such products in 2023.
The airport further noted that electronics have a new purpose through donations to the Belgian non-profit organisation Close the Gap. In addition, in line with their mission to bridge the global digital divide, electronics not collected after six months are redirected to educational, social, and medical projects in developing countries.
Clothes and strollers also find purposeful second lives, with clothing donations helping post-earthquake relief efforts in Turkey, while unclaimed strollers contribute to Spullenhulp/Les Petit Riens.
