More than 27,000 items were lost by passengers and found at Toronto Pearson Airport in 2023, with laptops topping the list, according to the travel hub.
An entire storage facility in Terminal 1 is dedicated to holding the 27,506 items, and a corresponding team tags, stores, and connects lost items with their owners, GTAA spokesperson Sean Davidson explained.
Those items, more than half of which were returned to owners, stay in the airport’s lost and found for 30 days, due to space constraints.
“After that, depending on the value of the item … we either donate it or it’s salvaged,” Davidson said.
Most often, travellers mistakenly part with their items at security.
“We have an entire shelf of just laptops,” he said.
Top items lost at Pearson Airport in 2023
Laptops - 5,217
Tablets - 2,101
Cellphones - 1,501
Carry-Ons - 1,258
How to report a lost item
People who lose possessions at Pearson Airport can either visit the lost and found office in Terminal 1 or submit a report online.
The airport is only responsible for items left inside the travel hub or its parking lot. To locate an item left on a plane, contact the airline.
The airport does not keep passports, Nexus cards, perishables, neck pillows, lost items left on airplanes, or public transit.
Davidson warns there is a scam circulating asking passengers to pay a $40 non-refundable fee for lost and found items at the airport.
He clarified there is no cost associated with the Lost and Found department, unless a shipping fee is required to get the item to its owner.
