Our staff will thoroughly search for your lost property.
"It varies from airport to airport, but at Haneda Airport, the ground staff who interact with customers at the airport are regularly assigned to the baggage team. Their shifts are long, lasting two months, but this is to ensure that they can continually respond to customers, not just in the case of lost property, but also in the case of damage or loss, which take time to respond to."
Naoko Yokokawa, Domestic Passenger Services Group, Airport Operations Department 3, Haneda Office
Yokokawa Naoko has been answering customer inquiries about baggage since this morning. When lost items are found at Haneda Airport, the details are immediately registered in a database. When a customer contacts us, we ask the customer's convenience and then mail the item to the address of their choice, with postage paid for. If an inquiry is made but the item cannot be found immediately, we carefully ask the customer about the circumstances under which they lost it and search all possible locations.
"Not all ground staff have this skill. It varies depending on the airport, but baggage handling work is different from regular ground staff work and has many unique aspects, so we provide specialized training. We respond to a variety of inquiries about baggage, including those received via email, direct phone calls, and calls forwarded from the reservation center."
Anything found in JAL-controlled areas at Haneda Airport, such as on board an aircraft or in a lounge, is stored in a storage facility within the department for a certain period of time. In addition, a database covering airports across the country is prepared and information is shared with personnel in each region.
Once your baggage is found, it will be carefully packed and shipped.
"Even if it's not on the plane or at the airport, we will ask for details such as the boarding date and flight number, and check the aircraft's flight schedule to find it. It may not be found at Haneda, where the aircraft arrived, but at another airport it departed from after arriving."
From wallets to ballpoint pens, we treat each and every item with care.
Even on weekdays, we receive about 100 lost items a day, and during busy periods such as consecutive holidays, the number can reach 200 a day. There are many different types of lost items. At JAL, even a single ballpoint pen or a handkerchief will be treated with care.
Customers' lost items are stored in storage units for each day.
"We consider the feelings our customers put into each and every item and handle each one carefully, no matter what it is. Among the many items left behind, souvenirs are the most common throughout the year. In the summer, sunglasses, hats, and water bottles are common, while in the winter we also find scarves and single-handed gloves. For items that have many similar items, such as charging cables and earphones, we try to register as many detailed characteristics as possible, such as the manufacturer and color, in a database."
There are many cases where valuables such as wallets and passports are found. In such cases, we immediately check the connecting flight information based on the customer's name, etc., and respond so that we can return the items to the customer as quickly as possible.
We will respond sincerely and considerately to our customers' feelings.
"There are times when items left behind cannot be found. We ask customers in detail about the circumstances under which they lost their items, and search all possible locations. We may also refer customers to the airport building's inquiry desk, in case the item has been lost in the airport."
Among them, Yokokawa says that one particular memory is as follows.
"One time, a customer contacted us saying that they had left their commuter pass case containing their employee ID card in the lounge at New Chitose Airport. We immediately contacted the Chitose Airport lounge and requested a search, but unfortunately it was not found there. However, we did not give up, and instead considered all possibilities and continued the search tenaciously in cooperation with the relevant departments. As a result, we were informed that it had been found inside an airplane parked at Itami Airport. It had probably been stuck in a gap between the seats or some other place that would not be found through normal cleaning.
We checked the details immediately and contacted the customer the next day. We apologized for taking so long, and he even came all the way to the airport to collect it! As it was busy during Golden Week and it would have taken some time to go through the counter, we asked him to call us when he arrived at the airport and handed it over to us directly. He was so touched by this... After that, he even wrote us a letter saying he was glad he chose JAL. It made me realise once again how I want to be considerate of our customers' feelings and do my job with sincerity."
From forgotten items to damage, we will do our best to help you out when something happens
Our work does not only involve finding lost items. We also deal with damaged or misplaced baggage.
"I believe that customers who contact us are feeling anxious and lonely. I am always thinking about how I should interact with such customers and what I can do to help them."
Because we are in a position to deal with "what if" situations involving our customers' precious luggage, we will explain things carefully and in an easy-to-understand manner. The mission of our baggage staff is to do our best to ease customers' concerns. Each member of the team faces customers face-to-face and sincerely supports them in any problems they may have.
We'll take you behind the scenes of JAL's work, including inside stories on the introduction of the A350 and the development of in-flight meal menus.
The contents published are accurate at the time of publication and are subject to change.
