Sachin Walls
Many travellers have had items confiscated at airport security, whether knowingly or unknowingly. These items range from water bottles, perfume, and cosmetic products to weapons such as knives and mace. But what happens to these confiscated items? According to the Transportation Security Administration (TSA), there are a few outcomes. While some items are voluntarily surrendered, others are abandoned and ultimately destroyed. In some cases, items are sold by state surplus agencies, with profits going to the U.S. Department of the Treasury to help pay off the national debt.
| Characteristics | Values |
|---|---|
| What happens to confiscated items? | Most items are voluntarily surrendered, and once abandoned, they cannot be recovered directly from TSA. |
| Where does the profit from confiscated items go? | Any profit from sales goes to the U.S. Department of the Treasury and into a general fund used to help pay off the U.S. national debt. |
| Where can confiscated items be purchased? | Confiscated items can be purchased from the surplus site GovDeals.com. |
| What happens to confiscated weapons? | Confiscated weapons are usually destroyed. |
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What You'll Learn
Items are often voluntarily surrendered, not confiscated
While it may seem that items are confiscated at airport security, in reality, travellers usually voluntarily surrender them. This is due to the fact that travellers are given a few options before abandoning their items. For example, if the traveller is local, they can go back to their car, or they can go back to the airline counter to check the item. Ultimately, however, it is the traveller's choice to either surrender the item or abandon it.
The most common items that are voluntarily surrendered at airport security checkpoints include oversized liquids, oversized gels, oversized aerosols, knives, and tools larger than seven inches. These are items that many travellers regularly carry and might not have thought about before heading to the airport. It is worth noting that packing certain items, such as guns or explosives, in your carry-on bag is prohibited and can lead to serious consequences.
When travellers surrender items, they are not confiscated by the TSA. Instead, each TSA-federalized airport has a contract with a state surplus agency that puts certain items from travellers on the market for anyone to purchase. Websites such as GovDeals.com offer a variety of items up for bid, some of which were previously surrendered at airports. For example, there may be listings for assorted nail clippers and knives, or a whole shipping container full of toys, many of which are toy guns and water guns.
While it may be possible to re-purchase a surrendered item through a state surplus agency, it is important to note that there is no way to directly recover an item from the TSA. The sheer number of items left at security makes it impractical to handle return requests. Therefore, travellers should be cautious and aware of prohibited items before packing their bags to avoid having to surrender any items at airport security.
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Confiscated items are sometimes sold, with profits going to the US Treasury
While the TSA does not refer to the act of removing items from your bag as "confiscation", and most items are voluntarily surrendered, there are still a large number of items that are left at security. These can include perfume bottles, aerosols, gels, knives, flammables, and other sharp objects.
Once you've abandoned an item, there's no way to recover it directly from the TSA. Given the sheer number of items left at security, there wouldn't be enough personnel to handle return requests. However, each TSA-federalized airport has a contract with a state surplus agency that puts certain items from travellers on the market for anyone to purchase. While you may not be able to recover the item from the TSA directly, you could, in theory, do an online search for your local state's surplus agency and repurchase your missing item.
Any profit from TSA sales of confiscated items goes to the U.S. Department of the Treasury and into a general fund used to help pay off the U.S. national debt. While there are no TSA confiscated items for sale, you can log onto the surplus site GovDeals.com, where you can find all sorts of items up for bid, some of which were previously surrendered at an airport. For instance, there was a listing for nine pounds of "assorted nail clippers and knives", with bids starting at $2. There was also a whole shipping container full of toys, many of which appeared to be toy guns, water guns, and similarly shaped items.
Some items, such as weapons, will be confiscated and destroyed.
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Some items are destroyed, especially weapons
Confiscated items at airports cannot be returned to their owners. While some items are sold or put up for auction, weapons are never part of these sales and are always destroyed. This is because they are considered a security threat and could be used as weapons.
Weapons are not the only items destroyed. Anything that poses a hazard, such as flammables, explosives, or hazardous materials, will also be destroyed. This is for the safety of all passengers and staff.
Some items that have been prohibited by the TSA and subsequently destroyed include knives, tools longer than seven inches, brass knuckles, and hat pins. More unusually, a saw and a sickle have also been confiscated and destroyed.
While the TSA does not refer to the act of removing items from passengers' bags as "confiscation," and passengers do have some options before abandoning the item, any weapons or hazardous materials must be left behind.
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Items can be checked and retrieved at the end of a flight
While it is generally understood that once an item is confiscated at the airport, it cannot be recovered, some airlines are trying to be more accommodating. United, for example, provides a courtesy box at the gate where passengers can check forbidden items and retrieve them at the end of the flight. It is important to note that this does not apply to weapons such as knives and mace, which will be confiscated and destroyed.
When packing, it is advisable to start with an empty suitcase to avoid accidentally bringing prohibited items. Liquids carried onto the plane must adhere to the 3-1-1 rule: they must be less than 3.4 ounces, placed in one clear resealable quart-size plastic bag, and one such bag is allowed per traveller. It is also recommended to arrive at the airport early, so that if you have a prohibited item, you have time to take it back to your car or check it in with your luggage.
Some items that are commonly surrendered at airport security checkpoints include oversized liquids, gels, and aerosols, as well as knives and tools larger than seven inches. It is important to remember that firearms, knives, and weapons are prohibited in carry-on bags. If a prohibited item is found during security screening, you may have the option to return it to your car or check it with your luggage, provided it is not a weapon or hazardous material.
While the TSA does not directly confiscate items, as they are considered voluntarily surrendered, they do accumulate a large number of discarded belongings. These items are often sold, with the profits going to the U.S. Department of the Treasury to help pay off the national debt. While you may not be able to recover the item directly from the TSA, you may be able to find it through your local state's surplus agency or online at GovDeals.com.
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There is no way to recover items directly from the TSA
While the TSA does accumulate large amounts of discarded belongings, from oversized liquids and gels to sharp objects, firearms, and flammables, the agency does not consider these items as "confiscated". Instead, most of these items are "voluntarily surrendered". That said, once you've "abandoned" an item, there's no way to recover it directly from the TSA. Given the sheer volume of items left at security, there wouldn't be enough personnel to handle return requests.
While you may not be able to recover the item from TSA directly, you could try to find it by searching your local state's surplus agency online and repurchasing it. Each TSA-federalized airport has a contract with a state surplus agency that puts certain items from travellers on the market for anyone to purchase. However, this may take a lot of work and research.
Some airlines, like United, are trying to accommodate passengers by providing a courtesy box at the gate where they can check the forbidden item and retrieve it at the end of the flight. However, weapons like knives and mace will be confiscated and destroyed, and hazardous materials or guns cannot be recovered.
In most cases, confiscated items at airports are destroyed at the end of the day, and there is little recourse for travellers beyond filing a complaint with the airline, which may not be sympathetic.
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Frequently asked questions
The TSA doesn't consider items to be confiscated, but instead, "abandoned". While the TSA doesn't sell confiscated items, they do have contracts with state surplus agencies that put certain items from travelers on the market. Any profit made from these sales goes to the U.S. Department of the Treasury. Some items are also destroyed.
According to a TSA spokesperson, once you've abandoned an item, there's no way to recover it directly from the TSA. However, you may be able to repurchase it from your local state's surplus agency.
Some of the most common items that are surrendered at airport security checkpoints include oversized liquids, gels, and aerosols, knives, tools larger than seven inches, and weapons such as brass knuckles.
