BALTIMORE — The Transportation Security Administration reported in their annual report that they collected $960,105.49 in unclaimed money including $85,930.04 in foreign currency from air travelers.
TSA reported the numbers in their annual "Unclaimed Money at Airports" report submitted to Congress. They also found that the Baltimore-Washington Metropolitan area was high on the list of airports that saw the most money left unclaimed.
TSA officials believe it is a result of loose change that air travelers remove from their pockets and forget to remove from the bins. They urge travelers to make sure to take the items from their pockets and place them in their carry-on bags so that they aren't left behind.
Washington Dulles International Airport topped the list of airports in the Baltimore-Washington area with the amount of unclaimed money at $31,090.38. Baltimore-Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport saw $14,771.16 in unclaimed cash, and Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport saw $14,584.08 in money left behind at checkpoints last fiscal year.
The 2018 fiscal year report was the largest amount of money collected in the last five years. The top three airports where travelers left the most money behind at checkpoints were New York (JFK), Los Angeles (LAX), and Miami (MIA).
TSA plans to use the unclaimed money towards checkpoint training requirements.
