While tricks like putting a shoe in the hotel safe can help prevent leaving valuables behind after check out, flights can leave even the most seasoned travellers frazzled.
It’s oh-so-easy to forget to check the pocket on the seat in front of you before deplaning after a long journey, and books, headphones and charging cables are all common victims.
Most people will reach out to their airline and eventually get their items back, but there’s a whole industry dedicated to sorting through and reselling items left on board and found in unclaimed luggage.
In the US, the Unclaimed Baggage Center in Scottsboro, Alabama, has been sorting and selling these items since 1970, and for the past three years the team has been putting together a report on what gets left behind.
Weird and wonderful things found in lost luggage last year
Unsurprisingly, the most commonly found items in unclaimed luggage are clothes, shoes, jewellery and chargers, but there are some seriously wacky things found, too.
Unclaimed Baggage’s 2026 Found Report includes a top 10 list, and coming in at number one this year was a robot, believed to be used in industrial automation. Presumably not in the same suitcase, sorters also found a bionic knee, which came in second on the list.
People aren’t just leaving behind items that aren’t worth the hassle of retrieving, either, as the list also included a custom set of diamond-studded grills made from 10 carat gold (coming in at number three), an Australian investment-grade pure gold bar worth thousands (number six), and a set of gold plated golf clubs (number nine).
The rest of the top 10 was rounded out by a meteorite (number four), a pair of fire poi (number five), samurai swords (number seven), a bee-keeping suit (number eight) and a teak didgeridoo (number 10).
If that wasn’t strange enough for you, the Found Report also includes a separate list for weird things. Topping that list this year was a taxidermy deer form, followed by a frog purse and a pre-WWI US army bayonet.
Other notable finds include a fake skeleton, a suitcase full of rat poison, a Tibetan singing bowl and a Dolce & Gabbana custom jewelled jacket.
How does a suitcase end up as unclaimed baggage?
While lost luggage is a big fear among travellers, the actual numbers are remarkably small compared to passenger volume.
In 2024, there were around 5.3 billion passengers on flights, but the number of lost bags was just 36.5 million, according to the 2025 SITA Baggage IT Insights report.
Before a bag makes its way to the Unclaimed Baggage Center, airlines will keep lost luggage for three months as they attempt to reunite it with its rightful owner.
Only then will it be sold on. Unclaimed Baggage Center’s store also includes unclaimed cargo as well as luggage from buses, trains and trucks.
Many of the items found are unsuitable for resale and may instead be donated or recycled.
In 2023, the Unclaimed Baggage Center opened a museum on-site where you can see some of the oddest things found, including suits of armour, a violin from 1772 and a basketball signed by Michael Jordan.
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