Airports are a fascinating place to be, the larger they are the more there is to see. However, the same is true for lost or forgotten items. It is not uncommon at all for passengers to forget, lose or leave items purposely behind when traveling. All items are collected with many being destroyed there are many others though that are put aside in storage awaiting their rightful owners to claim them. That doesn’t always happen though. So, what happens to all those items? They go on auction!
The Sydney Airport Lost Items 2025 Annual Auction
Some airports fill a small museum of the most interesting items people leave behind, Sydney International Airport on the other hand goes down the auction route. A yearly event that raises funds for charitable activities the airport sponsors.
Over the years these auctions have raises a grand total of 1.9$AUD million, with this year’s proceeds going towards providing low-income families with swimming lessons for their children and water safety programs.
Sydney airport is jumpstarting the fund raising by donating 100,000$AUD which will cover the cost of 4,000 lessons. Overall the airport aims to raise another 200,000$ from this year’s auction to provide even more free lessons.
What Can You Find On Auction This Year?
It’s incredible what travelers can forget or leave behind in an airport. The list of items is endless counting over 2,000 entries with the most common items left behind being:
- 250 laptops 
- 200 earbuds/headphones 
- 60 Kindles 
- 100 pairs of sunglasses 
- 250 pieces of jewellery & watches 
- 250 pieces of clothing 
- 80 handbags & wallets 
- 50 cameras 
- 50 bottles of perfume 
- 40 gaming consoles  
- 40 hair dryers & straighteners 
- 30 plush toys, including a giant 90cm teddy bear 
- 10 boxed Lego sets 
- 4 bikes 
- 3 surfboards 
- 2 sets of golf clubs
There are some more unique items also left behind at the airport, some things you might not even expect a traveler to bring to an airport, such as:
- Vacuum cleaner 
- Frying pan and air fryer
- Coffee machine
- 2 pairs of binoculars 
- The Lord of the Rings book collection 
- A violin and electric keyboard 
The auction is online and will be open for bids at theodorebruceauctions.com.au, with bids closing for each item group as follows:
- Tech & Gaming | Tuesday 10 June | 11am
- Jewellery & Watches | Wednesday 11 June | 11am
- Clothing & Shoes | Thursday 12 June | 11am
- Sunglasses, Scarves & Accessories | Thursday 12 June | 2pm
- Beauty, Alcohol, Home | Friday 13 June | 11am
Timings are of course in Sydney time zone.
Aviation News You Want To Know In Your Inbox
Get the most important aviation news in your inbox once a week.
"*" indicates required fields