The next time you empty your pockets at a security checkpoint, make sure you don’t forget to check the security bins carefully.
Last year, visitors to Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport left behind more than $11,000 worth of cash, mostly loose coins, according to the Transportation Security Administration.
Out of the roughly $1 million that went unclaimed nationwide at airports in 2018, Sky Harbor’s collection was simply a drop in the bucket.
In a press release, the TSA stated it plans to use the windfall on checkpoint training requirements.
In 2005, TSA received clearance from Congress to spent unclaimed funds on security.
While $11,340.91 was unclaimed at Sky Harbor in 2018, visitors were even less careful in 2017, having left behind $14,391.48.
On the top 20 list of unintentional contributors in 2018, Phoenix wasn’t listed.
The top three airports were John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York ($72,392), Los Angeles International Airport ($71,748) and Miami International Airport ($50,504).
Nationwide, the total was $960,105.49, which was nearly $100,000 more than the previous year.
