PHOTOS COURTESY PITTSBURGH INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT

Looking for a once-in-a-lifetime deal on electronics, jewelry or even a gently used car?

Some poor travelers’ loss (or apathy) could be your gain.

Each year, the Allegheny County Airport Authority hosts a massive public auction, where items lost and abandoned at Pittsburgh International Airport are offered up to the highest bidder. This year’s event, scheduled for Saturday, Oct. 22, contains more than 8,000 items — including more than 300 pieces of valuable jewelry, electronics including laptops and e-readers and 11 cars left in the airport parking lot.

The airport holds lost items for 30 days before they make their way to auction (and both airport staff and police make every effort to contact the former owners of those wayward cars). If no one claims items of value, they make their way to the annual auction — which benefits the ACAA Charitable Foundation, supporting workforce development efforts, aviation scholarships and the “Art in the Airport” program.

While abandoned clothing and eyeglasses are donated to charity, plenty of valuable items make their way to the auction block — and not just the expected laptops and bracelets. Items in this year’s auction will include such carry-on oddities as a security surveillance system, flippers and goggles, a mandolin and an Alienware gaming system.

The auction — yes, there will be a live auctioneer, as the fast-talking Joe R. Pyle returns to emcee the proceedings — kicks off at 10 a.m. at the Heavy Equipment Building on Cargo Road. If all that bidding helps you work up an appetite, food trucks will be on hand offering breakfast and lunch.

And if you lost something at the airport a while ago and forgot to claim it … well, this could be your chance for a reunion.