Hyderabad: Lost gizmo at airport? Call CISF

Hyderabad: If you forget or misplace your belongings, like a phone or a jacket, at the Hyderabad Rajiv Gandhi International Airport, just contact the Central Industrial Security Force that is in charge of security of the entire airport. According to CISF officials, even baggage is left behind in departure terminals, in the pre check-in area and after check-in area.

"Passengers are in a hurry to get onto the flight and they forget their belongings. Our team members, who keep a watch on all the premises in the airport, both manually and electronically, recover such bags as soon as possible. The first step is to run the bag through a thorough scan and make sure no explosive or other such material is inside," said a senior CISF official. They try to track the passenger by reversing the footage from CCTV cameras to locate the passenger. "If he/she is still in the airport, we make sure we deliver it to the passenger," but more often than not, the passenger has already left the airport.

A passenger claiming his lost property is subjected to proper verification. The lost property is kept with the CISF for a few hours in case someone returns to claim it and then handed over to the Airports Authority. Data compiled by CISF reveals that Rs 5.68 crore worth of unclaimed goods was left at the airport in 2016. The goods include high-end mobile phones, iPads, laptops, cameras, wallets, jewellery, clothes, sunglasses, and even foreign currency.

A large number of passengers never come back to claim their possessions. Officials say that more passengers seem to be leaving behind their possessions over the years, as the stress and hurry at airports increase.