A jaffle maker, a leaf blower and an autographed photo of Lionel Messi: what travellers left behind at Sydney airport

Sydney airport is auctioning off more than 2,500 unclaimed items, including a wedding dress, an electric scooter and a collection of lightsabers

A jaffle maker, a leaf blower and a Darth Vader helmet are just some of the items left behind by passengers at Sydney airport that are up for auction in the airport’s annual charity event.

Millions of passengers pass through Sydney airport each month, and sometimes items go missing. Those left unclaimed are donated to local charities or sold at auction, with the proceeds going to charity.

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‘Mini-city’: Meet the 30,000 workers who power Australia’s busiest airport every day

Hidden from travellers, Sydney’s airport workers operate intricate networks of conveyor belts, birdwatch with shotguns and sniff out contraband

Flying over the harbour and into Sydney Kingsford Smith Airport, the dazzling view of blue ocean lapping at the city’s heart makes the claustrophobia of a window seat tolerable.

For the 100,000-odd travellers who must endure some hectic combination of snaking queues, overpriced cafes, overweight bags and violated personal space before either arriving into or departing the city each day, the fleeting vista of a glistening Sydney stands out.

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Australia news live: two teenagers charged over Sydney building fire

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Children’s mental health not improved since Covid, research shows

The pandemic may be behind us but its impacts are still prevalent in the mental health of young people, new research shows.

Now that pandemic restrictions have been lifted, life has not necessarily gone back to how it was pre-pandemic. Wellbeing clearly dropped during Covid and has shown little signs of improvement since then.

The pandemic, sweeping changes in children’s lifestyles – from physical activity and screen time to sleep and diet – and the pervasive influence of social media aren’t regional anomalies. They’re global phenomena likely impacting children’s wellbeing worldwide.

Chief justice designate Gageler has earned a reputation as having an unequalled knowledge and understanding of constitutional law, an expertise that was sharpened before and during his term as solicitor general of Australia.

Justice Beech-Jones has provided extraordinary service to the law in NSW, commencing practice as a solicitor in Sydney for the firm now known as Freehills, before being called to the bar in 1992. His honour’s appointment to the high court of Australia, to replace the vacancy left by Justice Gageler’s elevation, will enhance Australia’s system of justice.

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Sydney airport emergency: man accused of making bomb threat on flight refuses to leave police cell to face court

Canberra man Muhammad Arif charged after Kuala Lumpur-bound Malaysian Airlines flight turned around on Monday because of alleged disturbance onboard

A man accused of making a bomb threat on an international flight out of Sydney airport on Monday afternoon has refused to leave his police cell to face court.

Canberra man Muhammad Arif, 45, has been charged with making a false statement about a threat to damage an aircraft, and for failing to comply with cabin crew’s safety instruction.

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Car park fees and other charges kept Australia’s big airports profitable during Covid recovery

Airports lost money on aviation operations between 2021 and 2023 but car parking remained a huge source of income

Australia’s major airports have all been haemorrhaging money from aviation operations, but were able to stay profitable during the Covid recovery from tens of millions of dollars in car parking fees, retail and other charges.

In its latest airport monitoring report of Australia’s four major airports – Sydney, Melbourne, Perth and Brisbane – the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) renewed its recommendation to the government to require the airports to report more detailed data about the true costs of providing services to airlines and travellers.

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Short-staffed Australian airports in chaos as flights depart without any luggage

Unions say aviation industry cannot cope with Easter travel crush after effects of Covid leave workforce depleted

Baggage handlers have been so short-staffed that entire flights have departed without luggage as the Easter travel crush peaked at Australian airports, with unions warning the pandemic-depleted aviation industry is now structurally incapable of coping with pre-Covid-like levels of travel demand.

While unloaded baggage and long queues affected travellers across the country on Thursday, unions have claimed that in Brisbane, so few service workers were available that female cleaners were sent in to clean male toilets while travellers were using them, and male cleaners into bathrooms with female patrons.

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Sydney airport warns delays could last weeks on third day of travel chaos

Qantas apologises to family who missed international trip because of domestic flight delays

Long queues at Sydney airport’s domestic terminals have continued for a third day, with some passengers missing international connections, as the airport warns delays resulting from a surge in travellers and a shortfall in security staff could continue for weeks.

Chaotic scenes were reported in the departure halls as early as 4.30am on Saturday, with some frustrated travellers, many of whom heeded the pleas of airport chiefs to arrive at least two hours before their domestic flight was due to take off, claiming only one security line was operating.

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‘Today we rejoined the world’: hugs, tears and Vegemite as Australia reopens international borders

Emotional scenes at Sydney airport as families, friends and lovers reunite after 704 days of Covid restrictions

There were tears, DJs, Vegemite and drag queens as families, friends and lovers reunited at Sydney airport after the resumption of all international travel to Australia.

While a number of expert bodies including the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the European Council have warned against travel to Australia due to soaring Covid-19 case numbers over summer, the federal government has vowed to keep the borders open.

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