PIT Donates Lost Items to Charity and Preps for Popular Auction

PHOTO BY BETH HOLLERICH, PITTSBURGH INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT

Thousands of lost items have found a home once again, thanks to Pittsburgh International Airport.

According to Blue Sky News, the airport has donated 60 pieces of left-behind medical equipment to Global Links, a Pittsburgh-based nonprofit that distributes health supplies to folks in need. The equipment, which was held for the standard period before finding its way to the donation pile, includes wheelchairs, rollator walkers and canes.

Officials say the effort reflects “a broader commitment to sustainability and community partnership — reducing waste while helping local families facing hardship.”

“Global Links was founded in Pittsburgh and is built on partnerships,” says Meagan Sotirokos, Global Links’ manager of surplus procurement and purchasing. “We are proud to be partners with PIT.”

Among those helped by the abandoned medical equipment “rescued” from PIT was a man in need of a wheelchair after he fell from a three-story balcony. 

“Months later, he returned to trade his wheelchair in for a walker and … he brought back the wheelchair he no longer needed, hoping it could be passed on to someone else.,” Sotirokos says.

PIT has also donated 57 boxes of clothing to Circles of Pittsburgh, an anti-poverty organization that connects low-income individuals with volunteers to help build financial skills, find employment and achieve economic stability. That donation includes coats, shirts, pants, winter jackets, scarves, hats, gloves and shoes that were turned into the airport’s Lost and Found service and never claimed.

Airport officials say they work hard to reunite passengers with their missing items; in 2025, it launched a new digital self-service Lost and Found platform that gives folks the ability to submit claims, track their belongings in real time and receive automated updates 24/7. It’s all part of the airport’s We Got You program, which focuses on helping passengers navigate unexpected events like lost items, delayed luggage and last-minute gate changes.

Lost items are held at the airport for 30 days. If an item isn’t claimed in time, it becomes property of the Allegheny County Airport Authority and is either donated to local charities or sold at the airport’s annual auction. 

While the dates for the popular auction have not yet been announced, airport officials have said it will be online-only again this year, and that it will once again be run by Joe R. Pyle’s Complete Auctions and Reality Services. Details on bidding dates, item previews and registration will be announced ahead of the launch.

Items to be auctioned off will include abandoned vehicles, jewelry, electronics, sporting goods, strollers and airport maintenance equipment, such as:

• Two Rolex watches, including a Rolex Datejust wristwatch
• Windone Folding Electric Bicycle, which is a black, compact folding commuter e-bike with a rear-mounted battery, integrated front light, rear cargo rack, disc brakes and 20-inch wheels
• Casio premium all-metal luxury G-SHOCK watch
• Handcrafted Sabika necklace with white stones
• Logitech keyboard

PIT is finalizing the list of 21 vehicles and equipment that will be included in the auction.