Qantas staff buy lost property, 'sometimes enough to fill a van'

Qantas says other passengers are most likely to have taken your forgotten goods. Source: Supplied

QANTAS staff routinely keep thousands of dollars worth of cameras, mobile phones, computers and other valuables left on planes by passengers.

The Sunday Telegraph reports that Qantas hold regular staff auctions to distribute the valuables.

Qantas does not actively attempt to return lost items even though travellers sit in allocated seats and leave contact details with the airline.

Passengers are told to leave telephone messages describing the lost gear but are immediately told the items are unlikely to be recovered.

Qantas says other passengers are likely to take any valuables left behind in seat pockets.

However, the airline conducts regular auctions where passenger valuables are up for grabs and insists other unclaimed items are given to charity.

Qantas, which generates $6.9 billion annually, said it donates hundreds of unclaimed valuables each month - sometimes by the van load - to the Salvation Army and Mission Australia in Sydney.

But neither charity had received donated items from the airline for more than a year.

Mission Australia spokesman Paul Andrews said he received the last donation of lost property from Qantas two years ago, but "we don't receive those donations any longer".

The Salvation Army's area manager Geoff McCartney said his charity receives items from Sydney International Airport, but nothing on a regular basis from Qantas.

"I can't recall the last time one of my drivers picked something up from Qantas," he said.

"Not in the last 18 months have we picked up from Qantas."

The practice emerged when The Sunday Telegraph requested information on how many passengers lost items.

Qantas said it was the responsibility of passengers to keep track of their personal items.

The airline emphasised its charitable side, saying after four weeks unclaimed items were donated.

"There is a set time we allow for passengers to claim their goods," head of corporate communication Olivia Wirth said.

"In Sydney we donate to the Salvation Army and Mission Australia.

"Each month the amount differs at each port - sometimes it's about 100 items, sometimes enough to fill a van."

When told that the Salvation Army and Mission Australia denied having recently received donated goods, Qantas said it had been donating the items to other charities.

"Some of our airports conduct staff auctions one or two times per year for unclaimed items with the money raised being donated to a charity that has been set up for terminally ill Qantas staff that can no longer work, or other charitable causes," Ms Wirth said.

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Comments on this story

TP of Sydney Posted at 6:15 PM August 08, 2010

This is OUTRAGEOUS! Absolutely scandalous-I think this is the sort of thing that Ben FOrdham and Crew should be chasing what a SCAM!
Sceptic Posted at 5:49 PM August 08, 2010

"Staff auctions"? What the heck are these? Just because you give it a fancy title doesn't mean that it makes it right? Earlier in the article it stated that Qantas donated lost property to charity after a "set time" but then Ms Wirth is quoted as saying that once or twice a year there are staff auctions. So how does that work? Do you keep all the 'good stuff' and give the 'rubbish' to charity or do you not give to charity at all? If I leave something on an aeroplane, I expect that that airline would be pro-active enough to make contact that my goods are in their keep, particulary since they insist that I give them all but my first born child before I board the plane. If I lose it in the airport though, I don't expect to get it back because most people aren't that honest: expect maybe in Japan.
Jan Brown of planet earth Posted at 5:47 PM August 08, 2010

who's telling a fib!! Charity for Qantas staff?? I find that hard to believe