The Fastest Way to Retrieve your Lost Item at SAN 

It’s never a boring day at SAN’s Lost & Found office in Terminal 2 East. Our team of seven processes up to 1,200 lost items a month and averages about a 75 percent return rate thanks to our streamlined process and their diligent work.  

Some of the most common items lost are AirPods, cell phones, and sunglasses/eyeglasses–but they’ve seen it all!  

Camping toilets, stuffed animals, and CPAP machines come to mind. If you’re a passenger who has lost something, here’s how to get your item back as quickly as possible. 

• File an online claim! Filing a claim is the most important thing you can do because it captures your information and helps put identifiers on your item.  

• Call your airline if you lost the item on the plane or at the airline ticket counter. Each airline has its own procedures for lost items. The Airport Lost & Found handles items lost in the terminals, at the Rental Car Center, or on the Rental Car Center Shuttle.  

• Have patience. It takes time for a lost item to be turned in. Everyone from volunteers and custodians to TSA agents and Harbor Police Officers turn in lost items. If you called the Lost & Found office right after your item was lost and it wasn’t found, file a claim and be patient, we’ll let you know if we have a potential match. 

• Put as many identifiers as you can for your item. You will need at least two elements to match your description to claim your item.  

• Make sure your item is something that the lost & found can keep. For health and safety reasons, the Lost & Found Office cannot keep soiled items, hats, and pillows unless inside a bag or suitcase. After 90 days, items are donated or recycled.