Lost Luggage Is Mounting!
Have you ever forgotten something at the airport? Have you ever checked the lost luggage department?
A report out today has confirmed what many had already suspected – UK airports have become a magnet for lost property! The report claims that on average a massive 8,500 mobile devices are left behind by passengers boarding flights. We are not just talking about cheap mobile phones, we are also talking about top of the range laptops with confidential information, we are talking about top of the range handheld devices – we are talking about goods with a value in excess of £1 million a year being left behind.
While there is the value of the goods themselves, we also need to consider the value of the information held by the many laptops left behind. As the majority of laptops are of a corporate nature, we may well be talking about highly price sensitive information, not to mention the number of MPs who seem to mislay their devices. But surely these items are recoverable?
While many of the goods do find their way back to the lost luggage departments, we are living in an increasingly more cautious environment with terrorism especially high on the agenda at airports worldwide. Security scares are becoming more and more common and the effects of leaving items behind can be there for all to see – not to mention the increased cost this incurs for the airport owners.
Many people also seem to forget the direct cost to themselves with insurance claims on the up, insurance premiums on the up and ID fraud also rising. So next time you visit the airport, don’t be in such a rush to catch that flight. Check you have all of your belongings with you, as you never know who may be watching – ready to pounce when you leave your laptop behind!