Security check points, washrooms, and boarding gates are three spots around the Malta International Airport terminal where passengers are most likely to leave personal belongings behind.
While an average of 750 lost-and-found items are successfully returned to their owners by the airport every year, many items remain unclaimed and eventually find new owners as they go under the hammer during Malta International Airport’s Lost, Found & Auctioned.
Now in its sixth year, Lost, Found & Auctioned has become a much-anticipated annual, fund-raising event in the run-up to Christmas, giving people the unique opportunity to do some of their shopping without having to go from one shop to the next.
This year’s edition, which was held on Wednesday 7th of December, was attended by some 200 people. The auctioneers for the evening, radio hosts JD Patrick, Martina Zammit and Nate & Rossi, took the prospective bidders through a list of more than 100 items.
While the usual suspects included a number of mobile phones and branded sunglasses; a small guitar, a hairdryer, a pair of vintage binoculars and two TV screens were among the more surprising items.
Starting from €100 and eventually going for a noteworthy €610, a Macbook Air was this year’s highest-selling auction item. Also fetching the substantial amounts of €560 and €500, were a piece of mystery luggage and a second Macbook Air, respectively. In the end, a total of €9,200 was collected, with this year’s beneficiary being The Inspire Foundation.
The Foundation’s CEO, Antonello Gauci said; “By auctioning off lost and found items in aid of The Inspire Foundation, Malta International Airport has made it possible for our organisation to reach out to more and more children, adults and families who need our help to cope and deal with disability. Inspire believes that everyone has a right to equality and inclusion. These efforts would not be possible without the generous and voluntary help of the public and of organisations like MIA which take it upon themselves to make a real difference people’s lives.”
The money raised during previous editions of the auction benefitted a number of organisations including id-Dar tal-Providenza (2015), Hospice Malta (2014), and The Ladybird Foundation (2013).