QANTAS is VERY slippery over lost belongings of air passengers

And "slippery" is putting it politely

QANTAS staff routinely keep thousands of dollars' worth of cameras, mobile phones, computers and other valuables left on planes by passengers.

The Sunday Mail can reveal Qantas hold regular staff auctions to distribute the valuables. Qantas does not attempt to return lost items even though travellers sit in allocated seats and leave contact details with the airline.

Passengers are told to leave telephone messages describing the lost gear but are immediately told the items are unlikely to be recovered. Qantas says other passengers are likely to take any valuables left behind in seat pockets.

However, the airline conducts regular auctions where passenger valuables are up for grabs and insists other unclaimed items are given to charity.

Qantas, which generates $6.9 billion a year, said it donated hundreds of unclaimed valuables each month to the Salvation Army and Mission Australia in Sydney. But neither charity had received donated items from the airline for more than a year.

Mission Australia spokesman Paul Andrews said he received the last donation of lost property from Qantas two years ago. "We don't receive those donations any longer, but we did a few years back," he said.

The Salvation Army's area manager Geoff McCartney said his charity received items from Sydney International Airport, but nothing on a regular basis from Qantas. "Not as far as I know, we don't get anything from Qantas," he said. "I can't recall the last time one of my drivers picked something up from Qantas," he said. "But I did hear that Qantas might give their lost property to Mission Australia."

The practice emerged when The Sunday Mail requested information on how many passengers lost items.

Qantas said it was the responsibility of passengers to keep track of their personal items. The airline emphasised its charitable side, saying after four weeks unclaimed items were donated. "There is a set time we allow for passengers to claim their goods," head of corporate communication Olivia Wirth said.

"In Sydney we donate to the Salvation Army and Mission Australia. Each month the amount differs at each port – sometimes it's about 100 items, sometimes enough to fill a van."

When the Salvation Army and Mission Australia denied having recently received donated goods, Qantas said it had been donating the items to other charities.

The airline also confirmed that staff auctions of passengers' lost property occur at various times throughout the year. "Some of our airports conduct staff auctions one or two times per year for unclaimed items with the money raised being donated to a charity that has been set up for terminally ill Qantas staff that can no longer work, or other charitable causes," Ms Wirth said.

SOURCE