Stansted lost property: how to report and reclaim a lost item

Stansted lost property: who to contact, by where you lost it

Where you report a lost item at Stansted depends on where you lost it, and getting that right is half the battle. Anything left in the terminal is handled by the Excess Baggage Company, with a desk in the arrivals hall, open 06:00 to 22:00, and an online form to register the item. Anything left on the plane, or a checked bag that does not turn up, is your airline's job, not the airport's. And items left on a train, a coach or a car-park bus go to that operator. This page maps each case to the right contact, and covers how the claim works, the fee, and how fast to act.

On this page (4 sections)

Lost in the terminal
How to claim, the fee, how long
Lost on the plane or a checked bag
Lost on a train, coach or bus

Lost in the terminal: the Excess Baggage Company

If you are looking for lost and found, this is it: the two terms mean the same thing, and Stansted uses the British one. Anything you leave behind in the terminal itself, in the check-in hall, the departure lounge, a shop or a seat, is handled by the Excess Baggage Company, not the airport directly. It has a service desk and collection point in the arrivals hall (the international arrivals landside concourse), open daily 06:00 to 22:00. The same company runs the airport's left luggage and bag wrapping, so it is the one-stop point for anything baggage-related landside.

You do not have to be at the airport to start. The quickest move is to register the item online, on the Excess Baggage lost-property form, which feeds a matching system that pairs found items with reported ones and contacts you by email or text if yours turns up. If you are still at the airport, you can go to the desk in arrivals instead. Items left in the car parks are passed to Excess Baggage too, so they go through the same route; only items left on a car-park shuttle bus go elsewhere, covered further down.

How to claim, the fee, and how long items are kept

The process is the same whether you report online or in person. Give as much detail as you can, what the item is, the date and rough time, and exactly where you think you left it, because that is what the matching relies on. If your item is found and matched, you either collect it from the desk in arrivals or pay to have it couriered to you.

Expect a charge. The Excess Baggage Company applies a per-item fee that covers handling, storage and return rather than just postage, so it is more than a stamp even for a small item. The airport does not publish the exact figure, so ask when you register. On timing, the airport does not publish a holding period for terminal items either, so do not assume something will be kept for long: report it the same day you notice it missing. The more time passes, the lower the chance of a match.

Lost on the plane, or a checked bag that did not arrive

If you left something on board the aircraft, or a checked bag did not come out on the belt, that is the airline's responsibility, not the airport's. Cabin crew hand items they find to the airline's own ground staff, not to the terminal lost property office, so the airline is where to start. The route differs by carrier:

Ryanair, the airport's biggest airline, asks you to report items at the arrival-airport baggage desk. A delayed, lost or damaged checked bag is reported there too, and you are given a Property Irregularity Report with a file reference to track it.
easyJet forwards items left on board to a separate service, and you report them through airlinelostproperty.com using your flight details.
Other airlines run their own lost-on-board form; check your airline's help pages.

For a missing checked bag specifically, report it at the airline's baggage desk in the reclaim hall before you leave, while you can still show your boarding pass and bag tag. The airline, not Stansted, runs the tracing and any compensation. The airlines at Stansted page has the carrier list if you need to find the right one.

Lost on a train, coach or car-park bus

If the item went missing on your way to or from the airport rather than inside it, go to the transport operator, not the airport or Excess Baggage.

On the train, or at the station: report it to the Stansted Express or Greater Anglia, both of which take an online lost-property report. The rail operators usually hold items for about three months, though bank cards are destroyed after 24 hours and perishables are disposed of.
On a coach: contact National Express, which runs a central lost-property database and charges a small fee when an item is returned.
On a car-park shuttle bus: the airport directs you to the bus operator that runs the service rather than to Excess Baggage, so ask the car park or the operator.

As with the terminal, report it as soon as you can, and have your travel details ready: the date, the service or train time, and where you were sitting. For anything none of these routes covers, the contact Stansted page has the wider directory, and the airport services hub covers the rest of the terminal.

Frequently asked questions

Where is lost and found at Stansted?

Lost and found is the same thing as lost property; the airport uses the British term. Items left in the terminal go to the Excess Baggage Company, which has a desk in the arrivals hall open 06:00 to 22:00 and an online form. Anything left on the plane is your airline's, and anything left on a train, coach or car-park bus goes to that operator.

Where do you report lost property at Stansted?

It depends on where you lost it. Anything left in the terminal goes to the Excess Baggage Company, which you reach through an online form or at its desk in the arrivals hall, open 06:00 to 22:00. Anything left on the plane, or a checked bag that does not arrive, is your airline's responsibility. Items left on a train, a coach or a car-park bus go to that transport operator.

Who runs lost property at Stansted airport?

The Excess Baggage Company runs lost property for items left in the terminal, from a desk in the arrivals hall that is open 06:00 to 22:00 daily. The airport does not run it directly. The same company also does left luggage storage and bag wrapping, so it is the one-stop point for anything baggage-related landside.

How do you get a lost item back at Stansted, and is there a fee?

Register the item on the Excess Baggage Company's online form, or at the arrivals desk, with as much detail as you can about what, when and where. If it is matched, you either collect it from the desk or pay to have it couriered to you. There is a per-item charge that covers handling and return rather than just postage, and the airport does not publish the exact figure, so ask when you register. Items are held for a limited time, so claim promptly.

I left something on the plane at Stansted. What do I do?

Contact your airline, not the airport, because cabin crew hand items to the airline rather than to airport lost property. With Ryanair, report it at the arrival-airport baggage desk, and a delayed or damaged checked bag gets a Property Irregularity Report there. With easyJet, report items left on board through airlinelostproperty.com. A checked bag that does not turn up is always reported to the airline before you leave the reclaim hall.

I lost something on the train or coach to Stansted.

Go to that operator. For the train, report it to the Stansted Express or Greater Anglia, both of which take an online lost-property report and usually hold items for about three months. For a coach, contact National Express, which runs a central lost-property database and charges a small fee on return. Anything left on a car-park shuttle bus goes to that bus operator.

How long does Stansted keep lost property?

The airport does not publish a holding period for terminal lost property, so report your item promptly rather than assuming it will be kept for long. The train operators keep items for around three months, with bank cards destroyed after 24 hours and perishables disposed of. The safest approach for anything is to register it the same day you notice it missing.