Left something at NAIA? Don’t lose hope, as this Swedish traveler learned

Swedish traveler Jouko Rantaniemi was at the Beijing Airport for a connecting flight to Stockholm on Thursday, July 18, when he realized that he had left his laptop at the final security check at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport Terminal 1 (NAIA 1) hours earlier.

Aware of past widely-reported incidents of theft committed by security personnel at the Manila airport, Rantaniemi was resigned that he would have to pay back his company for the office-issued laptop.

“I had already lost it,” he told his Filipina wife, Ruby Gonzalez, who was with him.

Ruby, a former travel journalist, told Rappler that she had “50-50 hope” that her husband would get back the gadget. As they prepared to board their flight to Stockholm, the couple reached out to their family in the Philippines to try to contact NAIA authorities, and this was when they found out that NAIA had an official lost and found page on Facebook.

The page, which seeks to help people who left personal items in all terminals of the Manila International Airport Authority, provides contact numbers. One can also send them a message to report the lost item.

Before boarding their flight, Rantaniemi sent a message through the Facebook page to inform NAIA about his laptop, and got a prompt response that listed the details he must provide to aid the search.

Over an hour later, he was informed that an item that fit the description he provided was among those turned over to the NAIA Lost and Found Section. He also received instructions on how to retrieve it through a representative since he was abroad. At the time, however, they were already en route to Stockholm and he only managed to check his messages once they landed.

The NAIA Lost and Found Section Facebook page posts photos of all items turned over to them by airport staff, ranging from small items like earphones and ballpens to luggage. The laptop was among those featured on the page in a post on Thursday, July 18, alongside bags of Duty Free items, AirPods, and mobile phones, among other items.

“It was like winning a small lottery,” Rantaniemi said, when he saw the photo of his laptop on the NAIA Lost and Found page. They were already on the flight to Stockholm when the photo was uploaded.

Getting back a laptop left at an airport may not even be something to write about in most other countries, but not in the Philippines, where security screening officers at NAIA 1 had been caught stealing cash and a watch from tourists in separate incidents the past year. In September 2023, a viral video of NAIA security personnel swallowing three $100 bills that she had stolen from a passenger further highlighted the theft problems at the airport.

While there have been many instances when airport workers turned over far more valuable items – like a bag with $10,000 in cash or a pair of socks stuffed with $18,000 – these acts of honesty often get overshadowed by the unthinkable schemes of some bad eggs in NAIA.

NAIA has been listed as among Asia’s worst and “most stressful” airports – an “improvement,” considering that it was deemed the world’s worst airport in 2013. In September, the consortium led by Ramon Ang’s San Miguel Corporation will take over as the new NAIA operator, raising hopes about a new and improved international gateway. (READ: Ramon Ang wants an even bigger NAIA terminal than promised. Can he deliver?) – Mia M. Gonzalez/Rappler.com