I don't think I'm guilty of this, but who's to say. I travelled every month in 2018, I'm sure I at least left a coupon behind.
Apparently the total amount of what people did leave behind is a staggering $906,105.49. Which is actually up from the 2017 total of $867,812.13.
TSA spokesperson Lisa Farbstein said "It’s not just change that’s left behind. That money also includes bills left behind in unclaimed wallets. Once the loose change is found, smaller airports send the money they collect to larger hub airports, which then rolls the change and deposits it to TSA," Farbstein stated. "The TSA keeps track of all the money that is being stored and transported," she said.
“If a TSA employee even takes a quarter or a dime, they would be fired,” she said. “There’s no excuse for that. It’s a matter of integrity.”
Wow.
Here's the list of the top 10 airports, and how much money was left behind:
1. John F. Kennedy International Airport (New York): $72,392.742. Los Angeles International Airport: $71,748.833. Miami International Airport: $50,504.494. Chicago O’Hare International Airport: $49,597.235. Newark Liberty International Airport: $41,026.076. Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport: $36,707.997. San Francisco International Airport: $33,264.808. McCarran International Airport (Las Vegas): $33,038.239. Orlando International Airport: $32,687.1010. Dulles International Airport (Washington, D.C.): $31,090.38