Tens Of Thousands In Loose Change Left By DC Metro Airport Fliers

WASHINGTON, DC — Distracted or busy airline passengers left behind almost a million dollars in loose change at the country's airports, including Washington Dulles International Airport, last year, federal officials say.

Of the three airports serving northern Virginia travelers, Dulles Airport had the most unclaimed money at Transportation Security Administration airport checkpoints in fiscal year 2019, as reported in the annual "Unclaimed Money at Airports" report submitted to Congress.

During FY 2019, TSA collected $926,030 in unclaimed money nationwide, including $18,899 in foreign currency, according to an agency news release. TSA authorities plan to use the unclaimed money for aviation security programs.

Washington Dulles topped the list of airports in the region with the amount of unclaimed money at $26,968. Baltimore-Washington International Airport saw $14,771 in unclaimed cash and Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport saw $13,207 left behind at checkpoints, according to the TSA.

The unclaimed money is typically loose change that travelers take out of their pockets and place in TSA security checkpoint bins, but also includes unmarked envelopes of cash.

It's easy for passengers to accidentally leave wallets and loose change in bins, the TSA said, if they look into the bin for items and are distracted by an advertisement on the bottom of the container.

Travelers who use multiple bins may stack them, walk to a seating area to put on shoes or return laptops to a carry-on bag and not realize that a bin in the stack still has change in it.

The TSA recommends that travelers remove items from their pockets and place those belongings in their carry-on bags before entering the screening area so they are not forgotten.

Totals for the last five fiscal years of loose change at the nation's airport checkpoints (October 1 to September 30) are:

• FY 2013 – $638,142.64
• FY 2014 – $674,841.06
• FY 2015 – $765,759.15
• FY 2016 – $867,812.39
• FY 2017 – $866,839.56
• FY 2018 – $960,105.49

The top 5 U.S. airports where travelers have left change at checkpoints are:

1. John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York City, $98,110.00
2. San Francisco International Airport, $52,668.70
3. Miami International Airport, $47,694.03
4. McCarran International Airport in Las Vegas, $44,401.76
5. Dallas Fort Worth International Airport, $40,218.19