How do you misplace a wedding dress or an air fryer at an airport? Apparently, it happens more often than you’d think. As Australia’s busiest airport, Sydney Airport handles more than 40 million passenger movements every year, and with that comes an amusing collection of forgotten belongings left behind in terminals. While many items eventually find their way back to their owners, thousands remain unclaimed, ranging from everyday essentials and expensive electronics to some bizarre forgotten possessions. Now, many of those abandoned items are set to go under the hammer as part of Sydney Airport’s annual lost property auction, giving bargain hunters the chance to snap up everything from jewellery and laptops to cameras, ski boots and more. Here’s what you need to know.
Sydney Airport’s lost property auction is back
Bidding is now open for this year’s auction, with more than 2,300 unclaimed items going under the hammer across a range of categories. Alongside popular items such as laptops, jewellery, designer handbags, watches and cameras, this year’s sale also features some more unusual finds, including a wedding dress, an air fryer, a Batman Lego set, three skateboards, a rice cooker and even a circular saw.
Bids start at just $10, with the auction expected to raise around $200,000 for Bayside Council’s Community Learn to Swim and Water Safety Program. According to Sydney Airport, the proceeds should fund more than 8,000 free swimming lessons for local families experiencing financial hardship.
More than 6,000 lost items were successfully reunited with their owners last year, but thousands of belongings still went unclaimed and ultimately made their way into this year’s auction. The annual sale has also become something of a local institution, raising almost $2.2 million for charities and community initiatives over the past decade. It’s also worth noting that the auction only includes items left behind in airport terminals, with lost checked baggage handled separately by individual airlines.
Travellers searching for missing belongings can now visit Sydney Airport’s new Lost Property office in Terminal 2, opposite Gate 55, which operates from 8am to 4pm on weekdays.
Find more information on the official auction house website.
