Man returned $15,000 forgotten at Hanoi airport

A Vietnamese man who had accidentally left behind a backpack containing more than $15,000 at Hanoi’s Noi Bai International Airport was reunited with his belongings, thanks to the quick action of airport security. The incident occurred when Nguyen Thanh Binh, a member of the car park security team, and Nguyen Thanh Tin, from the mobile security team, noticed an unattended black backpack in the lobby of Terminal 2 late on Thursday.

The two officers immediately followed protocol, performing a security check on the bag to ensure it contained no explosives. After the check, they turned the backpack over to the airport’s mobile security unit for further investigation. Upon examining the contents, airport officials discovered $15,075 in cash, along with a passport identifying the owner.

The passenger, who had just returned to Vietnam after working in South Korea, explained that he mistakenly thought a member of his group had taken responsibility for his backpack as they left the airport. It wasn’t until they were nearing downtown Hanoi that he realized the bag had been left behind, prompting him to rush back to the airport in the hopes of recovering it.

Expressing his relief, the passenger emphasized how fortunate he felt to have been able to recover his belongings. He explained that the money represented his hard-earned savings from working in South Korea and acknowledged how difficult it would have been to retrieve it without the swift actions of the security team.

This act of integrity and diligence adds to the airport's strong record of helping passengers recover lost items. To date, security teams at Noi Bai International Airport have successfully returned lost belongings to over 40 travelers in 2024 alone.