Losing personal items while traveling can quickly turn a smooth trip into a stressful situation, with the TSA estimating that about 90,000 to 100,000 items are left behind at security checkpoints every month. Whether it’s losing your wallet, phone, keys, or important documents, misplacing things can create unexpected challenges—especially in some of the country’s busiest airports.
To help travelers, the Holafly research team analyzed the number of TSA complaint counts to determine which of these 20 airports are most likely to leave travelers dealing with lost or mishandled belongings. We also looked at search volumes for commonly found items at the lost-and-found for the 20 busiest airports in America.
The Top 3 Airports Most Likely to Misplace Your Belongings
Orlando International Ranks as the #1 Airport Most Likely to Lose Your Belongings in the U.S.
Orlando International has emerged as America’s #1 “lost-and-found-prone” airport, with around 19 lost-and-found and mishandling complaints per million passengers. About 28 million people a year travel through this major Florida airport. Many of them are finding they have issues with their belongings being either lost, delayed, damaged, or even stolen when traveling through this airport, with a combined total of 5,757 complaints over a ten-year period.
New York’s John F. Kennedy International Ranks as the #2 Airport Most Likely to Lose Your Belongings in the U.S.
New York JFK International Airport landed at #2, with around 18 lost-and-found and mishandling complaints per million passengers. As the biggest airport in the NYC metro area, travelers to and from the Big Apple seem to have a hard time getting their items in one piece, holding a combined total of 6,196 complaints over a ten-year period.
Miami International ranks as the #3 Airport Most Likely to Lose Your Belongings in the U.S.
Miami International rounds out the top 3, with 18.25 lost-and-found and mishandling complaints per million passengers. As the second Florida-based airport in the top 3, travelers coming to and from South Florida have flagged issues with getting their belongings to them in one piece—if they even get them at all, seeing 4,923 combined complaints over a ten-year period.
The Most Searched-For Lost Items at Airports
Some belongings get lost more often than others, but with a few smart preparations, you can lower the risk and handle unexpected situations with more confidence. These are some of the most frequently searched-for lost items at airports, and some tips to help protect them during your journey.
Keys: The Most Commonly Lost Item
When it comes to specific items lost at airports, keys are the most searched-for lost item at the majority of major airports, with a total monthly search volume of 177,216. Losing your keys can quickly become a hassle, especially after trying to get home after a long trip.
Before your trip, consider making some spare sets of keys, an extra set for yourself and another for a trusted friend or family member, just in case. This way, you’ll always have access to your home or car if needed.
Phones: Your Most Important Travel Tool
Phones come in second, with 135,160 searches each month. Whether left charging at an airport outlet, forgotten on a cafe table, or lost while you’re relaxing during your journey—they can easily be misplaced.
Your smartphone holds far more than just your contacts—it contains travel documents, boarding passes, payment methods, photos, and other essential info. Before traveling, enable tracking features like Find My iPhone or Find My Device so you can quickly locate it if it goes missing.
If you can’t recover it, report the loss immediately and notify your bank, mobile provider, and any relevant authorities. If your device uses an eSIM, you can also restore your mobile plan and connectivity more quickly while reducing the risk of your phone number being used for fraud.
Wallets: A Small Item with Major Consequences
Wallets are another commonly lost item, with 115,110 monthly searches. Misplacing your wallet can be a headache since it holds your most important personal information.
Thankfully, many IDs, passports, and credit cards can now be stored digitally. Having secure digital backups means you can still access important information if your wallet goes missing, and you can block your cards to help prevent unauthorized transactions.
Stay Connected When it Matters Most
Losing an important item while traveling can be particularly stressful, but staying connected makes it easier to contact authorities, loved ones, and even access necessary travel tools like maps and travel info. With Holafly’s Always On, travelers automatically receive 1 GB of free backup data each month when their plan expires, ensuring they can stay online, resolve unexpected issues faster, and continue trips with a greater peace of mind.
Methodology
We used The Data Liberation Project’s TSA Complaint Counts to uncover which of the 20 busiest U.S. airports is the most likely to leave passengers dealing with lost or mishandled belongings based on the number of mishandling, lost, and found complaints per one million passengers from 2015 to 2025. We then used Keywordtool.io to analyze search interest to uncover which of the five common lost items (phone, AirPods, laptop, wallet, and keys) generated the highest search interest by passengers for each airport. Data is accurate as of June 30, 2026.
