Auckland Airport's lost property team is hoping to reunite a young traveller with their cuddly bunny bestie before Christmas.
Kelvin Jiang, who manages the airport's lost property office, said the homesick toy was handed in on November 10.
"We have thousands of lost items handed in every year and some are very special. I'm sure someone will be missing their bunny - we'd like to get them back together," Jiang said.
"This year, because of the effect COVID-19 has had on passenger numbers, there have been fewer items handed in from around the international terminal.
"But with domestic running at around two-thirds of last year's passenger volumes, there's still plenty of items that get left behind. Whenever possible, we do what we can to get these items back to their owners - it's easier to get things back to their owner when it's a domestic traveller than for an international."
Clothing, safe food items, sunglasses and toys go to Mangere East Family Services - that's where the bunny could end up if its home cannot be found.
"Earlier this year, we had a 3kg bag of onions and a massive bag of toilet rolls. It all goes to the charity," he said.
The bunny is one many things that have been left behind at the airport this year, but is probably the cutest.
"Last month, a surfboard was handed in at the domestic terminal - we managed to get that back to its owner. At the start of the year, we had bicycles and wheelchairs handed in. We've had paintings, power tools, musical instruments - there are a couple of ukuleles in there right now."
Not everything is treated with such care and kindness however.
"False teeth get handed in - because of the health risk, we dispose of them straight away."
Staff at Auckland Airport ask if anyone knows the whereabouts of this bunny's best mate and owner, to get in touch with them as they're greatly missed and the lost bunny is in need of some Christmas cuddles.
Kelvin Jiang can be reached via this email address: lostproperty@aucklandairport.co.nz
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