BWI Airport Travelers Leave Tens Of Thousands In Loose Change

HANOVER, MD — Distracted or busy passengers left behind nearly a million dollars in loose change at the country's airports, including Baltimore-Washington International Airport, last year, federal officials say. Of the three airports serving Maryland travelers, Dulles Airport had the most unclaimed money at Transportation Security Administration airport checkpoints in fiscal year 2018, as reported in the annual “Unclaimed Money at Airports” report submitted to Congress.

During FY 2018, TSA collected $960,105 in unclaimed money, including $85,930 in foreign currency. TSA authorities plan to use the unclaimed money for checkpoint training requirements.

Washington Dulles International Airport topped the list of airports in the region with the amount of unclaimed money at $31,090. Baltimore-Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport saw $14,771 in unclaimed cash and Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport saw $14,584 in money left behind at checkpoints last fiscal year according to a TSA press release.

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 some change in it.

The TSA recommends that travelers remove items from their pockets and place those belongings in their carry-on bags so they are not be left behind.

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

Top 10 airports where travelers have left change at checkpoints:

1. John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York City, $72,392.74
2. Los Angeles International Airport, $71,748.83
3. Miami International Airport, $50,504.49
4. Chicago O'Hare International Airport, $49,597.23
5. Newark Liberty International Airport, $41,026.07
6. Dallas Fort Worth International Airport, $36,707.99
7. San Francisco International Airport, $33,264.80
8. McCarran International Airport in Las Vegas, $33,038.23
9. Orlando International Airport, $32,687.10
10. Washington Dulles International Airport, $31,090.38