Auckland Airport's lost property team aiming for Christmas reunions
Auckland Airport's lost property team are hoping to reunite a young traveller with their cuddly bunny before Christmas.
Kelvin Jiang, who manages the airport's lost property office, said the homesick bunny was handed in on 10 November.
"We have thousands of lost items handed in every year, and some are very special. I'm sure someone will be missing their bunny – we'd like to get them back together.
"This year, because of the effect COVID-19 has had on passenger numbers, there have been fewer items handed in from around the international terminal.
"But with domestic running at around two-thirds of last year's passenger volumes, there's still plenty of items that get left behind. Whenever possible, we do what we can to get these items back to their owners – it's easier to get things back to their owner when it's a domestic traveller than for international."
Clothing, safe food items, sunglasses and toys go to Mangere East Family Services – that's where the bunny could end up if its home cannot be found.
"Earlier this year, we had a 3kg bag of onions and a massive bag of toilet rolls," said Kelvin. "It all goes to the charity – and they do great work in the local community.
"Last month, a surfboard was handed in at the domestic terminal – we managed to get that back to its owner. At the start of the year, we had bicycles and wheelchairs handed in. We've had paintings, power tools, musical instruments – there are a couple of ukuleles in there right now.
"False teeth get handed in – because of the health risk, we dispose of them straight away."
If you know a young traveller who was in the domestic terminal on 10 November and has since realised they've lost a very cuddly bunny, please get in touch via email: lostproperty@aucklandairport.co.nz.