Air travelers scrambling through security left nearly one million USD at TSA checkpoints, the most TSA has ever collected. Some airports collected more than others. This year travelers going through NYC’s JFK left over $72,000, an amount only rivalled by negligent or rushed travelers at LAX, Los Angeles’ airport. The $960,105 left behind across all U.S. airports is the most money TSA has collected and represents more than a 10 percent increase from last year, according to TSA.
While the overall increase in money left behind did correlate with the rise in air travel in the U.S., the particular airports that scored the most cash did not directly translate to the airports that saw the most traffic. While there were a staggering 1 billion domestic and international air travelers in the U.S. last year, Atlanta’s Hartsfield-Jackson airport, the busiest airport in the U.S., did not make the top ten monied checkpoints.
In years past, the forgotten money has gone towards maintenance and translating signs into other languages. This year TSA plans on using the money for checkpoint training.
