It’s one of the worst feelings in the world: the sudden realization that you’ve left something valuable behind. In my case, it’s my work laptop—that feeling of frustration that comes over me when I realize it’s not in my backpack as I catch the nearest flight home from Atlanta’s Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport (ATL).
I quickly realized I had it in my seat pocket on a Delta flight to New York’s LaGuardia Airport (LGA). ah.
I immediately started thinking about what to do next. I thought, “Maybe I should call my office and get another one,” but then wondered if a good Samaritan could give it to a Delta gate agent, which ended up being unnecessary. I know this is overly optimistic, but it turns out my optimism was justified.
So instead of calling my company, I called Delta customer service. I had a very helpful agent who told me he was sending a message to the ground crew at LGA asking them to keep an eye on my laptop. He suggested that I open a lost item report file on the Delta Lost and Found website.
He patiently walked me through all the steps of submitting the report. It’s fairly simple; once you fill out the three screens, it will generate a lost item report number for you.
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Delta Air Lines lost item reporting page. Delta Air Lines
Within minutes, I received an email from Delta’s lost item recovery team that read: “You have lost something important to you, and we are committed to helping you find it. We will search our inventory of items and if we find an item that closely matches your description, we will contact you. If your item is found, we will provide you with a link that guides you through the shipping and payment process so that we can quickly recover it for you and your lost item.”
Delta said lost item tickets will remain open for the next three weeks and “we will work to locate your lost item and provide you with email updates along the way.”
At this point, I didn’t expect to see my laptop again, but I was pleasantly surprised.
The next morning, on my way into the office (with my backup personal computer), I received a call from a number that was not listed on my cell phone. This time, I answered, and I’m glad I did. On the other end of the phone was a young man named Francis with good news. Someone found my laptop and put it in the LGA lost and found!
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Please note that it was only 14 hours since I first called to inquire about my item. Delta also sent me an email that morning letting me know my item had been recovered:
“Great news! We have found an item that closely matches the description of the item you reported missing. We have done our best to verify that the item matching the item you reported missing is indeed yours, and now we want to get it back to you as soon as possible.”
That’s incredible. I am so grateful and appreciative.
Francis told me I could pick up the laptop in person or have it delivered to me for a fee. I happened to have a flight out of LGA later that week so I said keep it for me and I would pick it up and thank him in person.
I showed up early to the new Delta Baggage Services office at LaGuardia Airport and met Francis and his entire team.
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Clint Henderson/Point Guard
It was a great day and a moment of exceptional service from Delta.
What to do if you leave something behind on a plane or airport
Almost everyone I know who travels frequently has experienced this. Lost your phone, Kindle, iPad, charger, passport… the list goes on, but here are some of our best tips for when you’ve lost something:
- If you realize this at the airport, return to your gate if possible. Most of the time, you won’t be able to return to the plane, but if the plane is still at the gate, you can ask the gate agent to help find your lost item.
- If you have passed customs or are unable to return to the gate, ask airline staff for assistance. I once left my phone in the bathroom at London Heathrow International Airport (LHR). I’ve already beaten the game, so I can’t go back to where I left off. Instead I went to the Virgin Atlantic arrivals lounge where staff called a colleague on the other side of security and they found my phone!
- You can also report any lost items by going to the lost baggage claim area.
- Try messaging the airline via Instagram, X or the chat function on the airline app. The quicker you report a missing item, the better.
- If the item is made by Apple, you can try using the Find My feature to track your item.
- Finally, do what I did and call the airline directly to find out the process for reporting a lost item. Most major airlines have online forms, such as the one I described at Delta.
- In some cases, you may also be required to file a police report.
- If you lose your passport, you may need to obtain a new passport and report your old passport as lost or stolen. We’ve got a complete guide on what to do in this situation here.
If all else fails and your item is indeed gone for good, check to see if you can use the purchase protection that comes with some credit cards to get reimbursed for the cost of the item. For example, you might have some protection for your phone based on how you pay your monthly phone bill.
bottom line
Just because you left your items on a plane or at the airport, you don’t lose everything. My story has a happy ending – and so can yours, as long as you act quickly and use all the tools at your disposal.
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