Sept. 07--The Allegheny County Airport Authority is offering everything from a snow plow to a 2010 Volvo C60 as part of a public auction of abandoned vehicles and old airport equipment next weekend.
The auction list includes 16 abandoned vehicles, 12 old airport vehicles, a lawnmower, an air compressor; and tires.
No planes are on the list.
Aside from the vehicles, the merchandise is mostly what passengers lost or abandoned, such as cellphones and iPads.
"You wouldn't believe all the stuff that's left behind," said airport spokeswoman JoAnn Jenny.
The items do include anything that the Transportation Security Administration confiscates during security checks, Jenny said. The TSA gives those things to the Pennsylvania Department of General Services' Surplus Property Division to be sold. They do not include weapons or anything illegal, but items such as scissors, kitchen cutlery and bricks.
The list of things to be sold next weekend includes clothes, used office equipment and jewelry. Among the cars up for auction are a 2008 Chevy Cobalt, a 2006 Jeep Cherokee and a 1984 Ford Bronco. Vehicles will need to be towed from the auction site unless purchased by a dealer with appropriate plates.
Jenny said the abandoned vehicles belong to owners who either refuse to retrieve their cars or could not be located.
"When a vehicle gets abandoned, we look at the title and try to find the owner. In some cases, it's a teenager who is running away, or someone's ex-wife who takes the car and leaves it at the airport," Jenny said. "In most cases (the owner) didn't realize the car was here."
The auction's proceeds will go into a fund for soldiers, which includes a special room in the airside terminal and Air Mall gift cards for departing military personnel. Money will pay an artist's stipend for art at the airport, Jenny said.
Bobby Kerlik is a staff writer for Trib Total Media. He can be reached at 412-320-7886 or [email protected].
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