Helsinki Airport trials service letting travellers reclaim items confiscated from hand baggage

FINLAND. Helsinki Airport is testing an online service that allows passengers to retrieve valuable items confiscated from their hand baggage that would otherwise be destroyed.

Airport operator Finavia has partnered with start-up company Cotio to trial the service. It is aimed at passengers who carry items of financial or sentimental value but which may not be included in hand baggage for aviation safety reasons.

When a valuable item is confiscated, the security officer provides the passenger with a receipt which features a unique code. After entering the code online at www.cotio.fi the passenger can order item delivery service.

The cost depends on the nature of the item and the delivery method. The online service is available in English, Finnish, Swedish and Russian and will be tested until the end of 2016.

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Approximately 400,000 prohibited items are confiscated annually during security control at Helsinki Airport, Finavia said.

“The most commonly confiscated hand baggage items include water bottles and hygiene products and cosmetics containers larger than 100ml, which may not be taken into the cabin due to liquid-related restrictions,” noted Finavia Vice President for Helsinki Airport Heikki Koski.

“Sharp items and flammable substances are also classified as dangerous. Items confiscated from hand baggage also include valuables, such as rare lighters, expensive spirits or objects which have sentimental value.”

Cotio CEO Kimmo Collander had the idea for the service when his Swiss Army knife, which he had forgotten was in his hand baggage, was confiscated. “I would have paid to have it delivered to me, but that kind of service was not available,” he explained.

The pilot project is intended to test process performance and to map out how useful the service is to passengers and whether there is sufficient demand for it.

The digital return service is an optional, additional service, Finavia said. Passengers may still return to check-in to have their baggage transferred to the cargo hold, take their baggage to their car or leave items with a person accompanying them or at the storage area. In Finland, passengers have long been able to retrieve items removed from their checked baggage.

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