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TSA Travel Tips Tuesday – How Not To Forget Your Laptop at the TSA Checkpoint and How to Get It Back If You Do

Happy Tuesday! In this week’s installment of Travel Tips Tuesday, we warn you about one of the common pitfalls that result when laptops are left behind at the security checkpoint. We also suggest how to get your laptop back if you do forget it. Please read on if you are interested.

Out of Sight Out of Mind - While gathering items after they come out of the X-ray, many will stack their bins to conserve space while they’re recombobulating. Since the laptop is a flat surface, many stack their second bin on top of the laptop bin. This puts the laptop out of sight. So, while the traveler gathers his or her items, the laptop is left behind as the traveler rushes off to their gate.

Tape a Business Card to Your Laptop - Many will realize they’ve forgotten their laptop and rush back to the checkpoint. Others do not realize it, and in most instances, there isn’t any info on the laptop to tell us who the owner is. It’s a good idea to tape a business card or a label with your name and contact info on or inside of your laptop. This helps in several ways:

How to Get Your Laptop Back – If you go to our Airport Lost & Found Contacts page, you’ll be able to find phone numbers for each airport’s TSA lost & found office. This happened to my father recently. He left his laptop at Cincinnati (CVG) and was in Florida before he realized he left it behind. After contacting CVG’s TSA lost & found office, they were kind enough to mail (at my dad’s expense) his laptop to him. That’s just one of the options. You can also arrange to pick it up upon your return, or have a friend or family member pick it up for you.