IZUMISANO, Osaka -- As passenger numbers recover at Kansai International Airport in Osaka Prefecture following the coronavirus pandemic, the number of suitcases abandoned or discarded at its terminals is on the rise again, putting a burden on workers.

When suitcases are collected, it is necessary to confirm that they are not hazardous, which requires a time-consuming inspection that takes up to about 20 minutes, and the cost of disposal is also incurred. A Kansai airport official encouraged the use of a service that accepts unneeded suitcases from passengers, stressing, "Don't ever throw them away (at terminals)."

When this Mainichi Shimbun reporter visited the airport, a suitcase was left near a trash bin in the second-floor lobby of a terminal building with a note asking for it to be discarded in katakana characters. The zipper was closed, and the contents were not visible.

As many passengers gather at the airport, suitcases that are left unattended or discarded must be checked for safety. Security personnel inspect them for explosives, and if locked, they must be checked using X-rays. If the contents are proven to be safe, the suitcases are treated as lost and found items. This process takes up to 20 minutes. Since there is a possibility that the suitcase is lost property, it will be kept for three months before being handed over to a disposal company. There are apparently almost no passengers who contact the airport to claim such luggage.

Suitcases are discarded near trash bins or left at various locations in the airport, such as baggage repacking areas and stairways with few people. It is believed that in most cases, travelers leave the items behind after they purchased new ones or because they are broken.

The abandonment and disposal of suitcases at Kansai International Airport had been a problem even before the coronavirus pandemic. According to operator Kansai Airports Co., there were 549 instances of abandonment in fiscal 2018 and 716 in fiscal 2019. The figure dropped to 148 in 2022 as the number of passengers plummeted during the pandemic. With the recovery of passenger figures, the number of occurrences is on the rise again, with 477 instances in 2023, and 273 between January and June 2024.

In 2018, the airport began a service that takes in reusable suitcases for free. It accepts them at the information counter on the Terminal 1 building's second floor, where travelers present their flight ticket and passport and sign a waiver of ownership agreement. The service handled 22 cases in fiscal 2020, 27 in fiscal 2021, 171 in fiscal 2022 and 507 in fiscal 2023 -- the number rising since the COVID-19 pandemic ended.

Reusable suitcases are handed over to a recycling company and sold as second-hand items. The stores where they are resold have not been disclosed. Using them for events at the airport is also under consideration. However, the service also faces a challenge. When the condition of the suitcases is carefully checked, problems such as dirt, defective handles and small holes can be found, meaning only about 10% of them can be resold. As a result, 90% are discarded.

The operator explained, "We are implementing the reuse service in an effort to keep the airport clean and make it more comfortable for travelers. By eliminating the labor of collecting abandoned suitcases and reusing them, we can reduce the burden on the environment and cut disposal costs."

(Japanese original by Tadakazu Nakamura, Izumisano Resident Bureau)