AER LINGUS fliers are to be charged up to €60 (£52) for the return of lost items, the Irish airline has announced.
Passengers who leave behind belongings such as phones, laptops and wallets on board Aer Lingus planes will face charges of between €20 and €60 for both the search and return of the misplaced items.
The charges also apply to items left in the airline's lounge at Dublin Airport.
Aer Lingus is changing its lost and found policy after outsourcing the process to a third party company – WeReturnIt.com.
The firm bills €20 to find and deliver items such as a wallet, watch or purse; €30 for a bag, headphones or mobile phone; €40 for a tablet computer or camera; and €60 for a laptop.
Passengers who mislay an item must complete an online form with flight information and a description of their property, before WeReturnIt check if it's in storage, confirm proof of ownership and ship it back to its owner.
In a statement, an Aer Lingus spokeswoman said the carrier was introducing the service “to offer guests a more efficient system of retrieving any lost property items life behind”.
She added: “Working with a specialist partner in this area is designed to enhance the guest experience … Aer Lingus makes no money from this service, nor is it saving any cost, it is simply a means of increasing the quality of our service."
A number of other airlines including Norwegian Air also use WeReturnIt.com for handling lost property.
Dublin Airport has a €6 (£5.20) handling charge for each lost item returned to its owner, with additional postage fees if required.
Misplaced belongings are retained by the Airport Police for a period of two months and a day, after which time the item, or items, are disposed of.
See More: Aer Lingus, Dublin Airport, Lost Property, Travel
