Wedding dress, 120 laptops among Sydney Airport auction

A wedding dress, hula hoops, 120 laptops and 60 bottles of alcohol are among lost items now being auctioned off online from Sydney Airport.

Its 2026 Lost Property Auction began on Saturday (June 28) and runs until next week with more than 2300 lost items going under the hammer.

Bids start at $10 and the proceeds are going to free swimming lessons and water safety programs for Bayside Council residents.

Kristen Sweeney is the airport’s Group Executive for People and Corporate Affairs. She says that “for more than a decade, our Lost Property Auctions raised almost $2.2 million for charities and initiatives” for residents living around the airport.

“Cost-of-living pressures are placing real strain on families right now and swimming lessons are one of the things that can easily fall out of the budget,” she says.

“Every dollar raised helps remove that barrier, giving local families access to free lessons and water safety education.”

This year’s auction is raising money for a council program that provides free lessons for children, young people and adults, as well as beach and water safety education.

The airport hopes to raise $200,000, the equivalent of more than 8000 free swimming lessons.

Bayside Mayor Edward McDougall says swimming is “a critical life skill” that too many children and families miss out due to cost and access barriers.

“This partnership with Sydney Airport will help us deliver free swimming lessons and water safety education to those who need it most,” he says.

Bayside Council is home to around 182,000 residents with almost half of them born overseas; it will roll out the program in the coming months at venues like the Angelo Anestis Aquatic Centre, local beaches and foreshore areas, and community venues such as the Arncliffe Youth Centre.

WEDDING DRESS AMONG COLLECTION

Among the items are 628 lots of clothing, 350 lots of jewellery and watches, 100 lots of headphones, 120 laptops, 60 bottles of alcohol, 60 scarves and 50 pairs of shoes.

More unusual items include a guitar, wedding dress, 2 hula hoops, three skateboards, ski boots, circular saw, boxing gloves, and tennis and badminton racquets.

Sydney Airport’s lost property team works to reunite lost items with their owners and in 2025 returned more than 6000 items to their owners.

Items unclaimed from 2025 were donated to local charities or repurposed in this year’s auction.

The airport says checked baggage is not included as they are managed by individual airlines; anyone looking for lost baggage needs to contact their airline directly.