If you ever boarded the plane but your wallet didn't — this show is for you.
Tampa International Airport is now featured on the new Nat Geo TV show — "Inside Airport Lost & Found."
The show documents the process of how items find their way back to owners, along with the dedicated employees who work every day to make those reunions happen. A production team from National Geographic and Lucky 8 spent nearly a year at airports across the country.
Beau Zimmer is the Communications Manager for Tampa International Airport. He spoke on "Florida Matters Live & Local" about the show, as well as what goes on behind the scenes when items end up at the Lost & Found counters.
"Just imagine that feeling when you're away from home, you're traveling and then all of a sudden, you realize you don't have your cell phone, your wallet, your headphones," Zimmer said.
Zimmer described how passengers leave their things at the airport gate, the curb, or sometimes leave them because they couldn't afford to bring them on the plane with them.
But once these items are sent to Lost & Found, Zimmer said, "that's where the detective work begins."
"Because our team at Tampa International Airport, they don't just tag this and throw it in a cupboard somewhere," Zimmer stated.
The team works to be proactive to discover a name or any information that may be associated with the item to try to get it back to its owner.
But physical items like diamond rings and designer shoes aren't the only things left behind: Pets have been, too.
Airports have a very strict policy regarding pets and animals. Zimmer explained that airports could be a dangerous place for them.
"We've got a lot of moving parts, escalators, the trams and things like that," he said. "We actually had a little dog named Rocky, who was a 6-year-old Chihuahua that as the family was picking up loved ones at the airport, [he] jumped out of the car and ended up on our runway for about a week."
Zimmer said the airport's security was able to find Rocky a week later, but it was definitely traumatizing for him, as the airport has some wooded areas.
"We were really worried about this dog, because we've got coyotes and other types of animals out there. He somehow survived," he added.
Tampa International Airport, on average, receives about 2,500 items left behind monthly. That is roughly 30,000 items a year. Zimmer said this show could bring audience hopes about getting their lost items back.
"A lot of people might just assume their items are gone for good. This was a good public service announcement to let you know you can possibly get your item back if it's turned in," he said.
Lost items are kept in the airport's warehouse for 30 days before being donated. Zimmer said the people who work to get those items back to their owners are the true heroes.
"A lot of times, these are life-saving medications. They are thousands of dollars left in a fanny pack, stuff that's very important that you get back. And they [the team] go to a lot of lengths to get it back to you," he said.
"Inside Airport Lost & Found" is now streaming on Disney+ and Hulu. You can find more information about the reality series here.
This story was compiled from interviews conducted by Matthew Peddie for "Florida Matters Live & Local." You can listen to the full episode here.
