Missing an erotic whip, £50,000 in cash or a prosthetic leg? Airports reveal the most bizarre items left behind by forgetful passengers

1.Several airports spoke to MailOnline Travel about their unusual discoveries
2.London City Airport tried to find the passenger who forgot £50,000 in cash
3.Workers have also discovered a bag of diamonds, wigs and Rolex watches
4.Many airports donate or auction unclaimed items in support of charity

With tens of millions of people passing through the world’s airports every day, it’s inevitable that belongings will be accidentally left behind.

While phones, laptops and passports are among the most commonly forgotten items, employees have found everything from huge amounts of cash and dentures to prosthetic legs and sex toys.

MailOnline Travel spoke to a number of airports who revealed their most unusual discoveries and what happens to the belongings that go unclaimed.

It seems like an object that wouldn’t be easy to forget, but passengers have left behind prosthetic legs

Last year, Sydney Airport lost and found, in Australia, auctioned unclaimed items, including a sleep apnoea machine

It may not be the capital’s largest airport, but London City Airport lost property processes more than four million passengers a year and has seen its share of bizarre or shocking finds, including personal keepsakes or expensive objects.

Over the years staff at the Royal Docks airport have recovered £50,000 in cash, a bag of diamonds, glass eye, prosthetic leg and false teeth.

They have also tried to find the owners of an artificial skull, wigs, Rolex watches worth more than £10,000 each, the key to a Porsche car and a book of signed blank cheques.

Melanie Burnley, the airport’s director of customer experience, said: ‘It’s quite interesting what people leave behind – items that you think they would notice were missing immediately.’

One forgotten item that easy to return was an award that had been presented to a British Olympian and had his or her name etched on it.

The £50,000 in cash was also claimed, but the owner of the false teeth never did come forward.

Of the more than 38 million passengers who visit Sydney Airport every year, one left behind a sewing machine

A Chinese tea set was also sold to raise money for Australian charities at an auction held by Sydney Airport

Burnley said the airport records each item and makes every effort to find the owner, although there are cases where it has no information to go on.

Each piece of lost property is held for a month.

After that, unclaimed items that can be donated to or auctioned in support of the airport’s charity, Richard House Children’s Hospice, are removed from storage.

Items that cannot be donated or auctioned, including laptops and iPads that may contain sensitive information, are disposed of in a safe manner, said Burnley.

London Luton Airport said items are held for three months and then given to charity or auctioned if they haven’t been claimed.

Last year, Sydney Airport lost and found, the busiest airport in Australia, auctioned 5,000 pieces of lost property in support of four charities.

The lots included a sleep apnoea machine, Chinese tea set, sewing machine, vintage telephone and musical instruments.

An auction is held every year, raising more than AUD$150,000 for Australian charities.

The lots included an old telephone, Beats by Dre headphones, cameras and an ornamental Chinese dragon

Sydney Airport lost and found holds an auction every year, raising more than AUD$150,000 for Australian charities

Philadelphia airport lost and found gets rid of its unclaimed items on Municibid.com, a government auction website where passengers’ belongings are sold alongside used police cars and unwanted dump trucks.

With the proceeds going back to the airport, the most recent auction featured golf clubs, a chess set, travel souvenirs and a trophy that had no real meaning to anyone other than the original owner.

Thanks to its red light district and relaxed drug laws, Amsterdam is viewed as one of Europe’s wildest cities.

At Amsterdam Schiphol Airport lost and found, passengers have left behind erotic items such as whips, casino chips, window screens, a wheelchair and bundles of cash, a spokesperson said.

At Singapore’s Changi airport lost and found, which has won many titles as the best airport in the world, more than 33,000 items were presented to its lost and found department in 2015.

The most common ones were mobile phones, tablet computers, passports and bank or credit cards, while some of the more unusual ones included dentures and musical instruments.

A spokesperson said: ‘When an item is presented to lost and found it is tagged and its description recorded before being kept for up to 60 days in a centralised store.

‘If no one claims the item, it will be donated to the Singapore Red Cross Society or disposed.

‘To protect the owners’ privacy, unclaimed items that contain personal data, like mobile phones are disposed of.’