Tuesday, July 8, 2008

BUHAY AMERICA TIPS:
Losing (and hopefully, finding) Your Stuff at LAX


I'm sure most of us have had that scary feeling when we're traveling. One moment we're calmly boarding our plane, and the next moment, ay naku! We suddenly realized we possibly left something at the airport.

If it's false alarm, good for you! Pero kung talagang may naiwan ka sa airport, it might not be the last time you see your stuff. All you have to do is find out who to contact and take the time to make the call.

The Los Angeles Times recently published an informative article on what to do when you lose items at the LAX.

The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) and the LAX police maintain a lost-and-found departments so if you lose something there, you might have a good chance that you can get it back. TSA hold most items for 30 days, the LAX police holds them for 97 days. Unclaimed items get donated.

The top 5 things they've recovered? Cellphones, luggage, electronics such as cameras & DVD players, laptops, and clothings. Each day, they find about "400 objects from checkpoints."

Writer Jane Engle lists the tips to remember to avoid losing-it hassles and what to do to when it happens:

* Carry on valuables. For every TSA employee who handles a bag, seven to 10 airline or contract employees may also handle it.


* Mark everything with a phone number and an e-mail address. Tape a business card to your laptop.


* Consolidate items. Put your keys and cellphone in your laptop case before going through security.


* Know whom to contact. Each airport may work differently. At LAX, if you think the loss happened at a security checkpoint, call the TSA at (310) 665-7382. Visit http://www.tsa.gov/ for more info, click on "For Travelers" and select "Lost & Found. There you can see the contact info for all airports.


If you think you left your item somewhere other than a TSA checkpoint, contact your airline or the LAX Airport Police Lost & Found; (310) 417-0440, www.lawa.org/lax/lostFound.cfm.
[photo: foxnews.com]

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