You forgot your AirPods on the plane – you found them at an airport employee’s home

They say that good things wait, but Alisabeth Hayden prefers to face her problems directly. In early March, this Washington state resident stopped by in San Francisco, USA, after visiting her husband, who serves in the military on the island of Guam.

Hayden says he was getting off the plane when he suddenly remembered he had left his jacket with the Apple AirPods on the seat. After he went to the United Airlines staff, they assured him that someone would bring his jacket to him at that time and then went on his way to catch his last flight to Seattle.

“I realized that even before I got off the plane,” he says. “I was the second to last off the plane, so I asked the flight attendant if I could come back for my jacket. He said no: federal law required me to get off the plane and stand next to her where the prams are brought. I was tired, she said she would bring it to me, I told her it was fine.

It was during that part of their journey that Hayden decided he would try to get some sleep. “Okay, I’ll put my AirPods on and I’ll be fine. I can sleep for a couple hours until Seattle.” “That’s when I realized they weren’t there” Hayden explains.

Thanks to the “Find My” app on his phone, Hayden realized that the AirPods had been stolen from his jacket. While in the air, he was able to follow them and take screenshots as they roamed the airport.

Headphones first through several terminals, then through the United Airlines cargo building.

AirPods have now appeared in a spot on the map called “United Cargo”, still inside the airport, but in the airline’s cargo area, so it’s not likely that a passenger had them.

Sure, everyone’s gadgets are precious, but Hayden’s AirPods have a special meaning: They’re her connection to her husband, who’s been calling her since he got on a line so much she needs them to hear it.

Hayden says he immediately began contacting various United employees and police departments to try and recover what was stolen from him.

In the meantime, he says, he’s marked the AirPods as “lost” in the app, so anyone who used them would hear a message telling them they were yours and giving them your phone number.

After nearly two weeks with little help, Hayden says he was able to get them back thanks to a detective working in San Francisco.

He verified that the address the headphones came from matched that of an airport employee, a contractor who worked by loading food onto planes.

The AirPods had been stolen by a contractor who loaded food onto the plane.

United would later clarify to Hayden in an email that they “were not a United employee, but a supplier”.

ABC7 News contacted United who sent a statement saying, “United Airlines holds our suppliers to the highest standards and we are working with local authorities in their investigation into this matter.”

Little words of comfort for Hayden.

Hayden has recovered his AirPods, but says they arrived damaged. For his inconvenience, United agreed to pay him for a new pair and give him 5,000 air miles as an apology.

But for now, Hayden says her persistence has served her well. And she hopes that she serves as a lesson to others, so that they never lose hope.